On 9 October 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina, though only $2.5 billion was initially utilized. During a 14 October White House meeting, President Donald Trump controversially conditioned the deal on the electoral success of President Javier Milei's party, with Bessent hinting the next day at an additional $20 billion in aid from sovereign funds and private banks. The swap was fully repaid by 9 January 2026, generating "tens of millions" in profit for American taxpayers. The political strings attached spooked markets, causing Argentine stocks on the NYSE to drop by up to 8.1% and the peso to depreciate 0.7% against the dollar. The move drew sharp bipartisan criticism, including from Senator Chuck Grassley (who cited Argentina's soybean exports to China) and Argentine opposition figures like Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Maximiliano Ferraro, who called it "a blatant act of extortion against the Argentine Nation."