Bessent: US investments in Argentina may hinge on election results

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Wednesday that planned investments in Argentina from several major U.S. companies could depend on the results of the country’s upcoming legislative elections.

In a Wednesday post on social media, Bessent outlined several steps the U.S. was taking to prop up the Argentine economy and financial sector. These measures included a commitment to purchase Argentina’s U.S. bonds and an unspecified amount of government debt, along with the opening of a currency swap line.

President Trump and Bessent met Tuesday with Argentine President Javier Milei on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly as Argentina seeks help navigating a financial crisis. The president offered his endorsement to Milei after agreeing to give Argentina a crucial financial lifeline.

“Argentina has the tools to defeat speculators, including those who seek to destabilize Argentina’s markets for political objectives,” Bessent said, referring to traders seeking to profit off of the steep increase in the value of Argentine currency.

But Bessent suggested that private sector support for Argentina could hinge on whether Milei’s party gains more legislative power after the Oct. 26 election.

“I have also been in touch with numerous U.S. companies who intend to make substantial foreign direct investments in Argentina, multiple sectors in the event of a positive election outcome.”

Trump found common cause with Milei, a libertarian economist with socially conservative views, as both rose to power in 2024 and 2023, respectively, promising to bring inflation down, slash government spending and end government support for programs popular among liberals.

Milei appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, D.C., this year with Elon Musk, then the head of Trump’s cost-cutting efforts, to whom he gifted a chainsaw — the iconic prop he used on the campaign trail to epitomize his approach to spending.

Milei pledged to end Argentina’s track record of rampant inflation with major spending cuts and governmental reforms, but some of his agenda cannot be achieved without more legislative power, according to experts.

His party, however, has steadily lost support in Argentina and took a serious hit in a recent regional election. The ongoing financial crisis is threatening to erode his support even further.

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