Argentina’s Milei pushes for US trade deal at CPAC amid crypto controversy

Argentine President Javier Milei, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, proposed a free US-Argentina trade deal, saying he agrees with Trump’s reciprocity agenda.

He argued that Argentina is willing to have a mutual free trade deal with the United States, saying its only hindrance is its membership ties to Mercosur, the South American trade bloc.

He commented:

“I want to take this chance to announce that Argentina wants to be the first country in the world to join this reciprocal accord that the Trump administration proposed on trade matters.” – Javier Milei

Argentina’s Milei endorsed Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans

Javier Milei met with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the CPAC conference and showed support for the billionaire’s reciprocal tariff plans, which many other countries have seemingly criticized.

According to the Argentine government, the two also spoke about the economic measures Milei is advancing in his country and how crucial it is for both countries to collaborate with each other.

Moreover, during his speech at the conference, the Argentine president repeatedly endorsed some of Trump’s strategies while bashing what he called “a political class with a God complex.” He also promised to work together with countries that share his vision of freedom and want to root out state bureaucracy, seeing Trump as one of his ideological allies.

Aside from Trump, Milei also met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and even handed him a chainsaw, his government’s symbol of ending state bureaucracy. He also talked with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva about an IMF loan, which he believes could help grow his country’s economy.

Milei is still under investigation for marketing a suspicious meme token

While the Argentine leader is seemingly showing more interest in his relationship with the US, he is facing corruption allegations and is currently under investigation for promoting a rather speculative crypto coin.

Just after its launch, Milei posted about the LIBRA meme coin on X on the grounds that he wanted to support growing businesses and startups.  His post quickly encouraged a price surge for the token, bringing its market valuation to over $4 billion.

However, as traders started to withdraw their assets, the token collapsed, with analysts saying the coin showed all the signs of a rug pull.

The LIBRA crypto scandal is now locally known as “cryptogate”, with a few influential characters involved, including a 28-year-old American entrepreneur who helped launch First Lady Melania Trump’s meme coin.

Meanwhile, the libertarian president distanced himself from the crypto project soon after its dip, even deleting his initial X post, but he did ask the Justice Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Office to investigate the case.

Milei and five more others, however, are currently under probe for creating and marketing the token and possible crimes of fraud, abuse of authority, and bribes.

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