Bessent: US Will Use Financial Leverage to Advance Foreign Policy Goals
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Washington will use financial power as a foreign policy tool, citing Argentina and Japan interventions.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has openly endorsed the use of US financial resources as an instrument of foreign policy, saying Washington will deploy its balance sheet to advance the interests of allies abroad.
Speaking at an event at the SMU Cox School of Business, Bessent said the goal is to create allies in the Western hemisphere. He singled out Argentina as a front-runner in this effort, praising the economic policies of President Javier Milei's government.
Last year, the US extended a multibillion-dollar support package to Argentina to help stabilise its currency and bolster Milei ahead of midterm elections. Bessent's remarks are a rare public acknowledgement of the administration's willingness to shape political and economic outcomes in other countries.
The administration has also sought to influence political contests across Latin America and has increased its military presence in the region. This includes a raid targeting ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and multiple strikes on boats in the Caribbean that have killed dozens. Rights advocates have called such actions imperial and extrajudicial, while the administration frames them as efforts to counter drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Bessent also discussed the rare joint yen-buying intervention with Japan on July 31, saying it signalled determination to prevent a selloff in the yen and Japanese government bonds from spilling into global markets. He said the episode gave him insight into the thinking of Japanese policymakers.
The administration has also leaned on tariffs as a foreign policy lever.