By Gram Slattery
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States would help Argentina but he did not think a financial bailout was needed as the World Bank said it would accelerate $4 billion in previously planned public-private investments for Argentina.
Trump spoke alongside Argentine President Javier Milei as the two leaders met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said all options were on the table for stabilizing the Latin American nation's financial markets.
"We're going to help them. I don't think they need a bailout," Trump told reporters in New York.
"Scott is working with their country so that they can get good debt and all of the things that you need to make Argentina great again," Trump added. He offered his endorsement for Milei's re-election bid so that his counterpart has another term "to complete the job."
Asked for more detail on the U.S. efforts, Trump said, "We are giving the president of Argentina our full backing and endorsement."
Bessent said on Monday that "all options" were on the table for the U.S. to stabilize Argentina's financial markets, including tapping the $219.5 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund to buy pesos or Argentine dollar-denominated debt, or opening currency swap lines with South America's third-largest economy.
Any decision on U.S. support actions would come after Trump met with Milei on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters query about the meeting.
The U.S. pledge of support for Trump's right-wing ally Milei extended Monday's rally in Argentina's markets, as international bonds rose and the peso strengthened almost 5% against the dollar.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday accused Bessent of offering to bail out Argentina's financial markets with American taxpayer funds, asking him in a letter to explain the move and to provide details of any expected costs.
"At a time when Americans are struggling to afford groceries, rent, credit card bills, and other debt payments ... it is deeply troubling that the president intends to use significant emergency funds to inflate the value of a foreign government’s currency and bolster its financial markets," wrote Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.
WORLD BANK INVESTMENTS
Separately, the World Bank Group said it was accelerating its $12 billion support plan for Argentina by deploying up to $4 billion of the total over the coming months through public-sector financing and private-sector investment.
The development lender said in a statement that the package would support Argentina's reform path and long-term growth agenda. It was not immediately clear how much faster the funds would be disbursed.
"The package will target key engines of competitiveness: unlocking mining and critical minerals; boosting tourism as a source of jobs and local development; expanding energy access; and strengthening supply chains and (small-medium enterprise) finance," the World Bank said.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, David Lawder and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos and Ryan Patrick Jones; Writing by David Lawder and Susan Heavey; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Daniel Wallis)
