Candid photo of Scott Bessent’s phone reveals administration’s concern about two key Trump policies

By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington (CNN) — A member of the Trump administration has seemingly raised a red flag after China bought millions of tons of Argentinian soybeans, taking advantage of a financial lifeline the US Treasury Department said it plans to provide to Buenos Aires – all while American soybean farmers are struggling with a Chinese blockade of their crops.

A photo of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s phone captured by the Associated Press shows a text from a contact named “BR,” presumed to be US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The message linked to the X account of grain trader Ben Scholl, who has sounded the alarm on what Argentina’s massive bailout means for America’s soybean farmers.

“Just a heads up. I am getting more intel, but this is highly unfortunate. We bailed out Argentina yesterday and in return, the Argentine’s [sic] removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price to China at a time when we would normally be selling to China,” the message said.

“Soy prices are dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” the message added. “On a plane but scott I can call you when I land.”

Administration officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The caught-on-camera text conversation appears to show how President Donald Trump’s haphazard foreign policy agenda has produced a number of unintended negative consequences for American farmers — a situation Trump has acknowledged by suggesting his administration may take action to help bail them out.

A strategic friendship that is hurting US farmers

Since taking power in 2023, Argentina’s President Javier Milei has overhauled the country’s spending and regulations. That has resulted in some success, such as monthly inflation slowing from over 25% to around 2%. But other corners of the Argentine economy are languishing, and the president’s party got trounced in local elections earlier this month.

Milei has a powerful friend in Trump, who has praised the chainsaw-wielding libertarian and endorsed his reelection at the United Nations last week, saying: “To the people of Argentina, we’re backing him 100%.”

The Trump administration has said it is arranging a $20 billion lifeline to Argentina’s central bank, which would exchange US dollars for pesos to help stabilize Argentina’s financial market.

Bessent said the deal would function as a “bridge to the election,” thereby allowing Milei to continue with his radical reforms.

But after Argentina temporarily rolled back its export tax on grain in the hopes of juicing sales, China snapped up “at least 10 cargoes of Argentine soybeans,” according to reporting from Reuters.

The move has further complicated America’s trade relationship with China: Once the largest buyer of American soybeans — Beijing bought $12.5 billion worth last year — USDA data shows it has not purchased any US soybeans since May, amid a trade spat with Washington.

The situation has hobbled America’s $60.7 billion soybean industry, and there seems to be no concrete solution in sight without a trade deal and China reconfiguring its soybean supply chain.

“US soybean farmers have been clear for months: the administration needs to secure a trade deal with China. China is the world’s largest soybean customer and typically our top export market,” American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland said in a September 24 statement.

“The US has made zero sales to China in this new crop marketing year due to 20% retaliatory tariffs imposed by China in response to US tariffs.”

Trump on Thursday at the White House suggested that his administration may distribute some tariff revenue to American farmers on a temporary basis to help alleviate their financial strain from his policies.

“We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we’ve made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are — for a little while — going to be hurt until it kicks in, the tariffs kick in to their benefit,” Trump said.

It’s the latest frustration for American farmers as they start to bring in this year’s crop.

“We’re always hopeful that those negotiations are moving forward, but yet with harvest here, patience may be running thin,” one Indiana farmer told CNN, describing the result on America’s heartland of inflation, Trump’s trade war and the deportation of the industry’s key migrant workforce.

“This is not your ordinary farm crisis. We call it ‘farmageddon,’” Joe Jennings, CEO of Daitaas Holdings, a Tennessee-based farm tech and software company, told CNN.

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