US treasury chief Bessent backs using US financial power as foreign policy tool

 U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advocated on Tuesday for Washington’s use of financial power as a foreign policy tool with the goal ​of advancing the interests of American allies, including in financial and political ‌situations abroad.

“I believe that I can use the balance sheet of the U.S. for foreign policy. So, we have a foreign policy goal and that is to create allies in the Western ​hemisphere,” Bessent said in an event at the SMU Cox School of ​Business.

“Argentina was the front-runner for that and it was my belief ⁠that the Milei government had sound policies,” he said, referring to Argentine President ​Javier Milei’s government.

Last year, the U.S. provided Argentina with a multibillion-dollar support package to help ​stabilize its currency and bolster Milei ahead of midterm elections.

Bessent’s comments marked an open acknowledgement of the Trump administration’s willingness to use U.S. financial resources to shape the politics and economies of ​foreign countries.

President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to sway political contests across other parts of Latin ​America and has moved to increase U.S. presence and influence in the region.Trump also ordered the ‌seizure ⁠of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid and the U.S. military has carried out multiple strikes on boats in the Caribbean that have killed dozens.

Rights advocates, both in the U.S. and around the world, say such actions are imperial and ​amount to extrajudicial ​killings. Trump casts ⁠them as attempts to advance U.S. interests and counter drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

Bessent also spoke about the U.S. having joined Japan ​in a rare joint yen-buying intervention on July 31, which signaled ​determination to ⁠prevent a selloff in the yen and Japanese government bonds from spilling over into global markets.

“When we intervened with the Japanese yen, I have pretty good insight into ⁠what the ​Japanese, what the Bank of Japan is going ​to do, what Japanese policy makers are going to do,” Bessent said.The Trump administration has also used tariffs ​as a foreign policy tool.

Source : Reuters