Overview

• At a White House meeting, President Trump said U.S. support would continue only if Javier Milei’s party wins the Oct. 26 legislative elections, stating, “If he wins, we’re staying with him… and if he doesn’t win, we’re gone.”
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed a finalized $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina’s central bank and disclosed U.S. purchases of pesos, though operational details remain partially undisclosed.
• Bessent said assistance is conditioned on Argentina maintaining Milei’s fiscal and monetary reforms and noted it is not contingent on ending Argentina’s separate swap arrangement with China.
• Argentine assets whipsawed, with the peso’s initial rally after the U.S. move followed by fresh declines and a roughly 2% drop in the main stock index after Trump’s conditionality comments.
• The intervention, described as unusual for the U.S. and compared to the 1995 Mexico rescue, has drawn criticism from both parties during a government shutdown, with some lawmakers and farm groups objecting to the timing and trade impacts.