U.S. Buys Pesos, Sells Out Farmers for 'Ally' Milei
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion currency swap framework and direct peso purchases, claiming it's for the 'success of Argentina's reform agenda.' This comes after Milei's party faced local election defeats, causing peso turmoil. Conveniently, Bessent neglects to mention how suspending soybean export taxes — a direct result of this lifeline — let China swoop in and buy
Argentine soybeans that would typically come from U.S. farmers. Axios confirms American farm groups are, predictably, 'frustrated.' So, the U.S. government funnels aid to a foreign leader whose policies directly harm American workers, all while Bessent applauds Argentina for 'lift[ing] the dead weight of the state.' One might wonder if 'dead weight' only applies domestically, or if American
farmers are simply expendable in the Biden administration's grand geopolitical chess match. Apparently, 'systemic importance' only applies if you're the right kind of libertarian.