Overview

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington is willing to do what is necessary within its mandate to support Argentina, citing options such as swaps, direct FX purchases and ESF debt buys, with meetings set in New York involving President Javier Milei and President Donald Trump.
• Argentina’s Decree 682/2025 temporarily scrapped export duties on grains and later extended the cut to bovine and poultry through October 31 under a US$7 billion cap to accelerate export liquidations and bolster FX supply.
• Markets rallied on the twin moves: the wholesale peso retreated to about $1,408, the blue eased to roughly $1,475, sovereign bonds jumped by double digits and the country risk fell to near 1,100, while the central bank paused FX sales after US$1.1 billion in interventions last week.
• Private estimates put the fiscal cost of the temporary duty suspension around 0.14%–0.26% of GDP, with roughly 0.14% attributable to 2025—about 46% of this year’s projected financial surplus—prompting warnings that the relief is time‑limited.
• Economy officials are seeking a bridge from the U.S. as Argentina still faces more than US$3 billion in external payments this year and much larger 2026 maturities; the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva welcomed the U.S. signaling, while the size and terms of any package remain to be defined.