Javier Milei and Donald Trump “are friends.” This was the assessment of Peter Lamelas, the future United States ambassador to Argentina, who described the link between both presidents during a recent presentation before the US Senate.
Milei is waiting for their relationship to be more than just ideological alignment. In that vein, the La Libertad Avanza government is already working on organising the president's next official trip to the United States. Argentina’s leader seeks a gesture of support at a delicate economic moment. He has long been waiting for an official visit: he has yet to be welcomed to the White House since entering the Casa Rosada in December 2023.
Unlike on previous occasions, this time the President will not travel north to attend informal meetings or receive awards. He has set his cap on two goals: a formal bilateral photo-op with his US counterpart and a gesture for his nation’s “total alignment with the United States and Israel,” the line governing Argentina’s foreign policy.
A trip would be Milei’s 11th visit to the United States since he took office. It is a key time for his administration: two months out from the midterm elections, he still needs to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund, which involves not only strengthening the Central Bank’s reserves, but achieving political consensus to support his economic programme – a weakened area since the presidential veto of the pension law in the Senate, the latest legislative setback triggering concerns on governability.
Milei’s forthcoming international trip has been anticipated by Foreign minister Gerardo Werthein. It was disclosed that it could take place in late August or early September. A meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Buenos Aires is also being pleased.
For now, Casa Rosada remains tight-lipped. According to reporting by Perfil, the foreign agenda is still being put together by Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, in coordination with Argentina’s ambassador in Washington, Alec Oxenford. “The meeting is going to happen. We’re looking at dates,” revealed Werthein in a television interview last week. “Of course it’ll be this year. It’ll happen sooner rather than later,” he added.
In parallel, the diplomatic offices at the Foreign Ministry are working on negotiations with the United States over a bilateral trade agreement, about which little is known. “Things are going well and it’ll be good for Argentina,” said Werthein, without going into details.
Meanwhile, Milei continues to send signs of affection. Following the announcement of new tariffs by the US government, he celebrated that Argentina was within the “least battered” group, with a 10-percent tariff overall. “Friends will be friends,” tweeted the Argentine chief executive, in reference to the famous Queen song.
However, one could note that Argentina found itself in the same group as Trump’s “ideological rivals” in the region, such as Colombian President Gustavo Petro or Brazilian head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Still, there was no complaint, just like there was when Washington hiked up tariffs to 25 percent on imports of steel and aluminium, key sectors of bilateral trade. Those duties remain in force and Washington insists they are off the negotiating table.
The Milei government issued no release either when the President of the United States applied a further 40 percent on imports to Brazil, a Mercosur ally and Argentina’s main trading partner, as “punishment” for the court proceedings against former president Jair Bolsonaro.
“The priority is total alignment with the United States and Israel, it is the guiding principle,” one retired diplomat close to the Foreign Ministry told Perfil. “You have to change your mindset to understand Milei’s foreign policy,”
In the meantime, he “fruits” of the “friendship” or alignment of the Argentine government with Washington remain unseen. Argentina’s government needs more than a photo-op: it needs dollars. Last week, the International Monetary Fund approved a disbursement of US$2 billion, even though Argentina did not meet its reserve goal for the second quarter.
According to the latest report by the body’s staff, the Central Bank reported net reserves of negative US$ 4.7 billion, well below the agreed-upon negative US$1.1 billion. The IMF relaxed goals, but warned that the fulfilment of them and political stability will be key to sustaining the programme. That is where the United States comes in. The August tour — if it takes place — would not only be to give Trump a hug, but also to revalidate the White House’s geopolitical backing, a factor weighing on the IMF’s desks.
Meanwhile, US businessman Peter Lamelas is awaiting his confirmation as Trump’s new ambassador in Buenos Aires. Once he is approved, it will take him around a month to get to Buenos Aires, reports the US Embassy. The brand-new chargée d’affaires, Heidi Gómez Rápalo, already started to touch base, and recently met with “cowgirl” Kristi Noem, the powerful Homeland Security secretary appointed by Trump, who recently visited Argentina weeks ago.
On the trade front, Oxenford is striving to show progress in his negotiations in the Argentine diplomatic see in the US. “Forty percent of the lithium imported by the United States comes from Argentina. And we have discovered the biggest copper mine in 30 years,” he told La Derecha Diario recently, as part of a campaign to “show the benefits” of the new RIGI large investment incentive regime.
Though the visit’s details are yet to be confirmed or finalised, Milei is aiming at high-flying foreign policy, that photo with Trump. And more.
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