US treasury secretary says Argentina has repaid its US credit line in a win for Milei
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina repaid funds it received from a bank $20 billion credit limit With the Trump administration and the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent It was announced on Friday, an important step for the Argentinian President Javier Milei to restore confidence in its chronically troubled economy.
In addition to paying bondholders, Bessent said, without specifying the amount, that Milei’s radical libertarian administration “repaid its limited draw quickly and in full.”
In the Treasury’s latest report on the status of the credit limit, it was stated that the Argentine central bank traded $2.5 billion in pesos through swaps as of the end of October.
The Central Bank of Argentina confirmed Bessent’s announcement.
The controversial and largely unprecedented US bailout provided the Trump administration with dollar liquidity. Cash-strapped ideological ally and I stopped one market rout In Argentina ahead of the crucial midterm elections last October.
Milei’s libertarian party won a great victory strengthens the support given to him in the voting harsh austerity program and to address investor concerns about the crisis-affected country’s ability to repay its debts. In another sign of renewed optimism about Milei’s reforms, his government issued the following: one dollar bond Last month heralded a return to international bond markets for the first time in eight years.
Bessent said that thanks to Argentina’s deposits, there are no longer any Argentine pesos left in the US Exchange Stabilization Fund, which was used for the bailout.
praised as a turning point that justified the payment Treasury’s rescue plan for Argentinaraised doubts about its consistency. Trump’s “America First” foreign policy and received backlash in the US for putting taxpayer funds at risk. Experts also criticized the opaque and seemingly unconditional nature of the loan.
“Stabilizing a powerful American ally and generating tens of millions in profits for Americans is America’s First targeted deal,” Bessent wrote. “It is clearly in our interest to set the course for Latin America, a strong and stable Argentina that helps anchor a prosperous Western Hemisphere.”
Argentinian Economy Minister Luis Caputo thanked the Trump administration “for their trust in our economic policy.”
“It is an excellent fact that our country has been able to establish this geopolitical alliance and know that we have the open support of the most important country in the world,” he said.
But Argentina is not out of the woods.
Foreign exchange reserves are still dangerously low. The country is expected to come under further pressure in the coming months due to the repayment of previous debts. International Monetary Fund loans and other private debts.
