The Trump Administration is beginning to apply pressure to Argentina to cut its economic ties with China, including ending its currency swap agreement with Beijing.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, who is the former President of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), spoke at Miami-Dade College in Florida at a conference on the U.S. strategy on Latin America on Thursday. Claver-Carone cited the Trump Administration's fears of Chinese influence on Argentina and hinted that U.S. support for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan for Buenos Aires would hinge on the loan not reinforcing China’s “position” in Argentina.
“What we do eventually want is for the famous credit line Argentina has with China to come to an end.” Claver-Carone would state at the conference while also describing Argentina’s President Javier Milei as an “ally”. He would also go on to claim that as long as Argentina has the currency swap with China, Beijing will be able to “extort” Argentina.
Last month, Claver-Carone would state that the U.S. was not interested in a free trade agreement with Argentina, something that Milei has publicly stated his desire to do so. Even stating back in January he was willing to leave the EU–Mercosur Association Agreement to achieve it.
Argentina was invited to join BRICS in August of 2023, setting to officially join the bloc at the on New Years Day of 2024, however Milei, who would become President in December of 2023, withdrew Argentina’s prospective membership a few days before the new year and instead expressed his wishes to move Argentina on a more Western oriented course.