'Betrayal': Farmers rip Trump for undermining American workers while 'gifting Argentina'

President Donald Trump’s decision to grant a roughly $20 billion currency‑swap line to Argentina has sparked backlash among American farmers. Plans are reportedly underway to increase the total support to as much as $40 billion through private‑sector financing.

The deal was formally announced by the Argentine monetary authority on Monday, and is part of a sweeping rescue package Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put together for Argentinian President Javier Milei to stabilize the country's economy.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from U.S. agricultural producers and legislators, who argue that providing major financial support to Argentina effectively undercuts American farmers — particularly soybean growers — at a time when they face shrinking export markets and stiff competition from Argentina.

In defending the move, the Trump administration has positioned the aid as vital to stabilizing a politically-aligned Argentine government under Milei and as part of a wider strategy in Latin America.

On Sunday, Trump said importing more beef from Argentina would help reduce prices in the U.S.

“We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he said on Air Force One. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”

Farm Action, a nonpartisan agricultural organization led by farmers, denounced the proposal in a statement issued to the media on Monday.

Christian Lovell, the organization's senior director of programs and an Illinois cattle producer, said, “President Trump’s plan to buy beef from Argentina is a betrayal of the American rancher. Those of us who raise cattle have finally started to see what profit looks like after facing years of high input costs and market manipulation by the meatpacking monopoly."

"After crashing the soybean market and gifting Argentina our largest export buyer, he’s now poised to do the same to the cattle market. Importing Argentinian beef would send U.S. cattle prices plummeting — and with the meatpacking industry as consolidated as it is, consumers may not see lower beef prices either. Washington should be focused on fixing our broken cattle market, not rewarding foreign competitors," the statement added.

Lovell continued: "With these actions, President Trump risks acting more like the president of Argentina than president of the United States.”

The statement further noted that the U.S. beef industry is dominated by four major meatpackers that control roughly 85 percent of the market.

"This consolidation allows them to suppress prices paid to ranchers while keeping consumer prices high. Importing more beef into this rigged system will not lower costs for families or restore fair markets for producers," it added.