US President Donald Trump has just made news by stating that his Argentinean counterpart, Javier Milei, “had a lot of help” from Washington to secure his party’s midterm election victory. Whatever other form that help might have taken, it’s clear the American bailout certainly helped.

In any case, Trump administration’s recent moves — a $20 billion rescue package for Argentina and a beef trade deal quadrupling low-tariff imports — have sparked both domestic backlash and questions about Washington’s broader strategy.

As is the case with other developments, these decisions go beyond trade policy and are about geopolitical maneuvering, with layers that could reshape US influence in Latin America. They’re not without risks, though, as the blowback from US farmers goes to show.

Argentina, reeling from decades of economic mismanagement, faces a crushing debt burden and chronic instability. Trump’s $20 billion bailout, framed as a lifeline to stabilize Milei’s libertarian government, comes alongside a trade deal that increases Argentina’s low-tariff beef exports to the US from 20,000 to 80,000 tons annually. Beef is a cornerstone of Argentina’s economy, and access to the US market could bolster Milei’s reforms. But for American cattle producers, it’s a slap in the face.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, for one thing, has bluntly called the deal a betrayal, arguing it undercuts US ranchers by flooding the market with cheaper Argentine beef. Another........

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