How exactly has Milei’s presidency gotten to this point? What sort of historical precedents are there for the U.S. swap line? And what are the risks involved for the United States?

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced that the United States would make a $20 billion swap line available to Argentina to help stabilize the country’s financial markets and the value of the peso. Argentine President Javier Milei took office two years ago promising to fix Argentina’s economic problems through libertarian reforms. The U.S. financial intervention suggests that those reforms haven’t worked according to plan.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced that the United States would make a $20 billion swap line available to Argentina to help stabilize the country’s financial markets and the value of the peso. Argentine President Javier Milei took office two years ago promising to fix Argentina’s economic problems through libertarian reforms. The U.S. financial intervention suggests that those reforms haven’t worked according to plan.

How exactly has Milei’s presidency gotten to this point? What sort of historical precedents are there for the U.S. swap line? And what are the risks involved for the United States?

Those are just a few of the questions that came up in my recent conversation with FP economics columnist Adam Tooze on the podcast we co-host, Ones and Tooze.