Between
multiple
extrajudicial
killings
of
everyone
aboard
several
alleged
Venezuelan
drug
boats,
a
supposed
peace
deal
in
the
Middle
East,
and
a
million
other
international
stories
as
the
chaotic
daily
misinformation
vomit
of
the
Trump
administration
rains
down
upon
us,
you
can
be
forgiven
for
missing
a
tale
of
mere
economics.
Today,
though,
we
will
take
a
few
precious
moments
to
shine
a
light
upon
a
series
of
foreign
policy
decisions
that
would
have
been
a
politically
ruinous
scandal
had
they
been
made
by
any
other
presidential
administration
in
American
history
even
as
they
barely
warrant
a
footnote
today.
So,
did
you
have
any
idea
that
Donald
Trump
has
committed
$20
billion
of
U.S.
taxpayer
funds
to
bail
out
Argentina’s
central
bank?
It’s
true!
Though
the
details
are
scant,
the
idea
is
to
prop
up
Argentina’s
collapsing
currency
and
avert
a
financial
crisis
in
the
country
through
a
currency
swap.
Now,
although
rare,
it’s
not
unheard
of
for
the
U.S.
government
to
step
into
the
finances
of
a
foreign
country
under
dire
circumstances
to
safeguard
American
interests.
For
example,
30
years
ago
the
United
States
(that
time
in
conjunction
with
the
International
Monetary
Fund)
intervened
to
prevent
Mexico
from
defaulting
on
its
debt
so
as
to
protect
significant
American
investments,
prevent
a
collapse
of
global
markets,
and
avert
a
true
crisis
at
the
U.S.
southern
border.
Obviously,
Argentina
is
not
adjacent
to
the
United
States,
meaning
there
are
not
the
same
border
concerns
this
time.
There
are
indeed
American
investors
with
stakes
in
Argentina
—
the
most
heavily
invested
are
wealthy
hedge
funds
including
Fidelity,
BlackRock,
and
Pimco.
However,
the
Trump
administration
is
not
even
really
trying
to
make
a
cogent
case
for
dropping
$20
billion
into
Argentina.
Trump
likes
Argentina’s
leader
Javier
Milei
because
he
is
a
right-wing,
anti-immigrant
populist.
Sound
familiar?
“He’s
MAGA
all
the
way,”
said
Trump
at
the
start
of
his
meeting
with
Milei
on
October
14.
Trump
was
hosting
Milei
at
the
White
House,
and
has
previously
described
the
Argentine
leader
as
his
“favorite
president.”
This
bank
bailout
comes
at
what
should
be
a
more
politically
sensitive
time
for
providing
gratuitous
favors
to
Argentina:
at
this
very
moment,
American
soybeans
farmers
are
harvesting
their
crops,
often
without
any
hope
of
selling
them
because
China
has
been
instead
buying
soybeans
from
Argentine
farmers
this
year
thanks
to
Trump’s
tariffs.
Last
year,
China
purchased
more
than
half
of
American
soybean
exports
at
a
value
of
$24.5
billion.
This
year,
in
the
midst
of
Trump’s
trade
war,
export
volumes
to
China
have
fallen
by
more
than
50%.
Meanwhile,
the
Milei
government
cut
Argentina’s
export
tax
on
soybeans.
The
move
worked
as
a
means
of
courting
interest.
Chinese
buyers
have
already
reportedly
purchased
approximately
20
shiploads
of
Argentine
soybeans.
Trump
has
talked
about
using
some
of
the
tariff
revenue
to
provide
another
bailout
to
American
farmers.
Yet,
with
tariff
revenue
tied
up
in
legal
limbo
due
to
the
seemingly
facial
invalidity
of
Trump’s
tariff
regime,
and
given
that
markets
do
not
tend
to
just
spring
back
into
place
once
buyers
have
become
accustomed
to
alternative
sourcing,
it’s
an
imperfect
solution
at
best.
Let’s
review.
Without
any
oversight
from
Congress
or
the
courts,
Trump
has
committed
20
billion
American
tax
dollars
to
bail
out
the
central
bank
of
Argentina
largely
to
assist
wealthy
hedge
funds
and
a
foreign
right-wing
politician.
At
the
same
time,
Argentina
is
actively
striving
to
steal
what
was
American
soybean
farmers’
largest
market,
helped
along
by
Trump’s
erratic
tariff
regime.
Trump
is
not
doing
this
for
some
grand
strategic
reason,
but
because
Argentina’s
leader
is
aligned
with
him
ideologically.
According
to
one
report,
America’s
most
farming-dependent
counties
backed
Trump
in
last
year’s
election
by,
on
average,
an
overwhelming
77.7%.
I
guess
you
reap
what
you
sow.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD (affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at [email protected].