from @TupiReport on Telegram
🇦🇷🤝🇺🇸 — The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, received US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who, during the meeting at the Casa Rosada, reaffirmed the “full support of the United States for President Milei’s bold economic reforms.”
💰 Bessent’s visit followed the Argentine government’s signing of a new $20 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the announcement of the end of currency controls. In Buenos Aires, Donald Trump’s secretary also praised the Milei administration’s “prompt action” to “reduce barriers to reciprocal trade with the United States,” highlighting a new chapter in the bilateral relationship.
➡️ During the meeting, Bessent also congratulated Milei on the successful negotiations with the IMF and “emphasized the United States’ confidence in President Milei to continue driving Argentina’s positive economic momentum,” according to an official statement released by the U.S. Treasury.
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TRANSCRIPT
Announcer: We welcome to the conference room of the Casa Rosada the President of the Nation, Dr. Javier Milei, and the Secretary of Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent. We are joined by national authorities and members of the visiting delegation. After the meeting held in this government house, a joint statement will be made.
First of all, I give the floor to the Secretary of Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent.
Scott Bessent: Good afternoon, and thank you, Mr President. It is an honor for me to be here with you today in Casa Rosada.
A few years ago, the Argentine economy was balancing on the edge of a precipice. Decades of poor management had led to uncontrolled inflation, a high unemployment rate, default, and irresponsible emissions. Every time the people exerted pressure, the government’s solution to these problems was always more.
More spending, more social programs, more bureaucracy. But the more the government did, the less people it had. There was a man who recognized that the state was not the solution, but the problem.
One man had the courage to stand up for Argentina by defending the establishment. And that man is standing here today with me. I am proud to support President Javier Milei as he works tirelessly to make Argentina great again.
President Milei inherited an economy that was too slow, a bureaucracy that was too large, and a level of inflation that had rarely been seen in this country. President Trump did the same. To address these problems, President Milei committed to fight excessive public spending, to reverse bureaucracy, and to re-privatize the economy.
President Trump did the same. In many ways, Milei and MAGA are in the same direction. At the heart of both movements, lies the belief that power belongs to the people, not to the bureaucrats.
By embracing democracy over bureaucracy, both movements aim to unleash economic growth and restore government efficiency.
The government exists to serve the people, not the other way around. President Milei and President Trump had this intention years ago. That is why they now lead two of the greatest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Under President Milei’s leadership, Argentina and the United States share similar values. So I was eager to make this trip to open the first formal conversations about reciprocal trade between our two countries.
In addition to opening these conversations, I have come here to convey the optimism that we feel in the United States regarding the New Argentina. President Milei’s presidency marks a decisive break from the past. I firmly believe he has the vision, will, and executive skill to lead this country through an economic transformation.
In the turn of the 20th century, Argentina knew it had tremendous wealth and prosperity. It hosted the 10th largest GDP in the world, and it attracted foreign investment. I am confident President Milei can return this country to that golden age again, and continue the policies in place.
Thanks to President Milei’s bold agenda, we see signs of a historic turn. The private sector is finding a way again, as the public sector steps back. There is more growth, less inflation, and poverty is declining.
But this change will only last if Argentina’s friends support it. That’s why the United States is proud to have supported the IMF program and the significant commitment of the World Bank and the World Bank, which will support the reform policies run by this government to accelerate the country’s economic transformation. The IMF program will give Argentina financial relief room amidst the adjustment.
It will facilitate foreign exchange localization, while safeguarding market stability. This stability sets the stage for what should be a massive boom in foreign direct investment. Many US firms, with whom I spoke and were excited, declare long-term capital to take part in this exciting economic miracle.
What President Milei has accomplished in just 16 months is absolutely incredible. I would like to congratulate the President’s economic team for seeing the outrageous vulnerabilities they inherited. They have reduced the deficits, driving the runaway income, and they have laid a new economic foundation for the country that will allow businesses to thrive.
The pro-market ecosystem that President Milei has cultivated justifies faith in Argentina’s institutions and Argentina’s economy. I see the proud people of this country believe in their own future, and I believe the United States should be a part of that future. To conclude, I’m here today to express support for President Milei and the vision of his government for this beautiful country.
I’m also here to express the administration and willingness to collaborate with President Trump’s government for the Argentine people. You were willing to make tough choices over the short run to make difficult decisions in the short term to make Argentina great again. We are your partners in this historical transformation.
Thank you very much, President, for inviting me to participate with you. Next, we will hear the words of the President of the Nation, Dr Javier Milei.
President Javier Milei: Good afternoon, everyone. Before I begin, I would like to thank and welcome the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, whom we have the pleasure of welcoming to the Republic of Argentina.
We deeply appreciate the support he has given us at the International Monetary Fund, at the World Bank, and at the BIS, so that Argentina can access this funding, which has been the basis for being able to mark a historic day in the history of Argentina, which is the exit of the SEPO, and which is the basis for Argentina to grow again. And that is why we also call this day the Day of Liberation.
So I want to thank you deeply for the support you have given us and the emphasis and emphasis that I know you have given to make this possible. So on behalf of myself, as President, on behalf of my great team of present Argentinians and future generations, thank you very much, Secretary, and thank you very much also to the Government, led by Donald Trump. That an official of his caliber, among so many meeting requests that he has had weeks ago, has chosen to come to our country marks a turning point in the cooperation between both States.
We trust that the good understanding that we are building between our administrations will be beneficial for both nations. Argentina and the United States share a great affinity. Both nations are daughters of Western civilization, flagged by fundamental rights to life, freedom and private property.
And we both also belong to the New World, to the young American continent that has its own qualities. We are heirs of the contributions of different cultures and traditions and we carry in us the pioneering spirit of our ancestors who crossed the ocean. In the 19th century, for a period, Argentina and the United States shared a common mission.
Each one was, in their respective hemispheres, we became great powers of the continent and we marched to the vanguard of the region, carrying the torch of civilization. But, in spite of our efforts, at one point, Argentina lost its course. A long list of politicians, blinded by socialism, applied an endless number of wrong ideas that brutally impoverished us.
And they found in the United States a scapegoat for the evils they themselves had generated instead of a potential partner with whom to grow together. This wrong attitude found its pinnacle in 2005, when we turned our backs on a free trade agreement with the United States and lost the opportunity to advance national development for ten years. However, this was not limited to the Argentine Republic.
Similar experiences took place in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and even Brazil to a lesser extent. A product of socialist policies, hidden under a purely rhetorical nationalism, many of these countries ended up destroyed, starting with Venezuela, which is a great villa-misery, in addition to an open-air prison, or Bolivia, which has also found the material limit of its socialist model and is gradually deteriorating. But the world is no longer the same as it was 20 or 10 years ago.
Today the world is changing. After decades of accumulating tensions, the global order as we knew it is being reconfigured. The great global debate that President Trump has opened is causing many years of trade imbalances to be discussed in pursuit of a fairer redesign.
He correctly understands that it is necessary to correct the existing distortions and fight for a commercial system where everyone plays with the same rules, without abuse and unfair trade practices. In fact, today Argentina is living its own day of liberation. After 15 years of capital control, today we have gotten rid forever of that yoke to which we were chained, to return once and for all to a path of sustainable growth.
We understand the moments of change not as a threat, but as a challenge and an opportunity, both for Argentina and for the rest of the region. In this context, we believe that such people have to work together, both to prosper and to protect each other. That is why Argentina intends to be a firm ally of the United States in the region.
And in fact, it has been the first of all to manifest this commitment and sustain it reliably in all diplomatic instances. At the commercial level, we understand the reciprocal proposal developed by President Trump, and we are ready to sign a commercial agreement on this line, which will undoubtedly benefit both the United States and Argentina. Because a greater commercial integration means nothing more and nothing less than that citizens of both nations can access goods and services of better quality at a better price.
However, we understand that the society we are forging with the United States has to go beyond deepening our commercial relations. When Europe was devastated by World War II, the United States went to the rescue of the old continent. They did it because they understood that if Europe continued to fall through the abyss, it could drag the rest of the West with it, leaving it at the mercy of communism.
And that it was imperative to strengthen their allies to ensure their own strength. Today, Latin America is also devastated. For decades, our region has been besieged by the virus of socialism, mainly in the economic dimension, where it has left an inflation and misery tent in Venezuela, Argentina and other countries.
But also in the social and cultural dimension, where socialism governs and condemns people to failure. In short, the region is vulnerable, and many nations that have turned their backs on the United States during the last decades, today could find mutual benefit in reconciliation, as is the case with Argentina. Therefore, the roots of the seeds planted in this new relationship between the United States and the Republic of Argentina must be strong enough to be able to expand throughout the region.
In the same way that the United States was a beacon for the whole continent, and also for the whole world during the 20th century, Argentina is determined to become the beacon of light that South America needs after being subjected to so much darkness. Finally, I want to emphasize that this joint work between our countries will be instrumental for both nations to return to their golden years. Because just as President Trump assumed the commitment to make America great again, we have also promised our people that we will make Argentina great again.
We are making Argentina great again. And we trust that this collaboration will help us both to get to Puerto Rico. Once again, thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for your visit.
In such a transcendental moment for Argentina, for the United States, and for the whole world, we deeply appreciate your manifest commitment to our government and our policies. God bless Argentina. God bless the United States and all the peoples of the sky.
And may the strength of heaven accompany us. Thank you very much, everyone. This is the end of this joint statement.
Thank you very much. Good afternoon.
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