US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent confirmed that part of the $20 billion swap had been activated so that the United States could collect profits from its intervention in the exchange market.
The American official confirmed that his intervention in Argentina was not a rescue, because that does not mean making profits, and added that a “very small” portion of the credit line had been activated.
“We provided a line of credit,” the official said in an interview with MSNBC. “A small amount was used, and we made a profit.”
This comment made clear the foreign exchange market had been waiting for definitions on whether the United States would collect the surplus it had generated through its peso deposits at the central bank, and removed doubts about how Argentina would pay for this profit.
Market estimates had already assumed that the swap had been activated, although there was no official confirmation.
The official was asked how Argentina’s “bailout plan” could benefit the United States.
In his response, Besant emphasized that in the first place it was not a rescue operation, because in a rescue you do not make money.
“We are using our fiscal balance to stabilize the government of one of our major allies in Latin America during the elections,” a Donald Trump official explained.
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