President Donald Trump met with Argentina’s President Javier Milei during the UN General Assembly, but stopped short of promising a US-funded bailout for the struggling economy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US is exploring options, including funds to purchase Argentine currency or sovereign debt.
The US help comes as Milei’s government faces debt, political unrest, and a bribery scandal ahead of the country’s October midterm elections. Argentina is one of the largest borrowers from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to which it owes over $40 billion.
Milei delivered on his promise to slash inflation from nearly 26% in 2023 to under 2% last month, but his strategy of overvaluing the peso has backfired.
Unemployment has climbed from 5.7% to 7.6% since Milei came to power, and growth has stalled in the country. His grip on Congress is also waning as approval ratings collapse.