After President Donald Trump’s tariffs led a China, significant international trading partner to turn to Argentina, which had recently received a sizable bailout from the US government, members of Trump’s cabinet are frantically trying to turn things around.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen reading a frantic letter from “BR,” who has been identified by some as Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, at the UN General Assembly. The communication was connected to the X account of Ben Scholl, a grain dealer from the Midwest who has raised concerns about Washington’s recently thrown lifeline to Buenos Aires.
“Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, Argentina removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China,” the message read.
“Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” the message continued, with Rollins adding: “On a plane but Scott I can call you when I land.”
As per a media outlet, La Nacion, the Associated Press photojournalist Angelina Katsanis took the image, which has already made the rounds in Argentine news.
Bessent said last week that because Argentina was a “systemically important U.S. ally in Latin America,” the United States was “ready to do what is needed within its mandate to support Argentina.”
He stated that U.S. officials were negotiating to buy secondary or primary government debt and create a $20 billion swap line with Argentina’s Central Bank. Argentine President Javier Milei had previously pledged to eliminate. Bessent even alluded to favors from American businesses.
Scholl remarked that this was a huge mistake. “China and Argentina work together for soybeans as Bessent offers to subsidize the Argentine economy,” Scholl wrote on X Tuesday. “They think you are stupid.”
As Trump tries to negotiate a real trade agreement with Beijing, China, the biggest importer of U.S. soybeans, has not been buying any American soybeans since May and has instead turned to suppliers in Argentina and Brazil.
Even prominent Republicans have been compelled to acknowledge that Trump’s tariffs have put farmers under pressure. The president claimed that the pinch could be made up for with “millions” or “billions” of tariff income, although he wasn’t really sure.
“The U.S. trade war with China has dealt a huge blow to American soybean producers, since China paused soybean imports from the U.S.,” Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, wrote on X Monday.
