Leaked texts on Scott Bessent's phone suggest the White House got played bailing out Argentina—and U.S. soybean farmers are the casualties

A man looks at a text on his phone (Credit: Angelina Katsanis—AP Photo)

The White House’s plan to aid Argentina appears to have backfired.

According to a photo of a private text on the phone of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Argentina responded to the treasury secretary’s $20 billion bailout by turning around and removing its export taxes on soybeans and striking a huge new deal with China. That diminished the price of U.S. soybeans and weakened U.S. trade leverage with China, which immediately pulled out of its existing arrangements with soybean farmers in America’s heartland.