The Argentine government has authorized the Ministry of Economy to contract up to $5 billion in public debt from international financial institutions, granting executive officials broad authority to negotiate loan agreements and establish repayment conditions without prior congressional approval.
The measure was issued Monday through Decree 478/2026 and published in the Official Gazette. Under the decree, the Secretariat of Treasury and the Secretariat of Finance were empowered to negotiate the terms of future borrowing operations, including financial conditions, repayment schedules, currencies, and payment methods for each agreement.
The decree also establishes that any future disputes involving creditors will be submitted exclusively to U.S. federal courts. The measure provides the government with expanded flexibility to seek international financing as Argentina faces challenges accessing private credit markets.
While the authorization allows the administration to pursue new sources of external funding, the decree includes protections for specific categories of state-owned assets. According to Pagina 12, the government will formally object to any attempt by creditors to seize Central Bank reserves or accounts, public-domain property located within Argentine territory, assets connected to essential public services or those declared of public utility by Congress, diplomatic and consular holdings, military or defense-related property, cultural heritage assets, and outstanding tax or royalty receivables owed to the national government.
The decision comes as the government looks for alternatives to private bond markets, where borrowing costs have remained high. Although Argentina’s country-risk index briefly fell below 500 basis points over the past month, yields on a potential sovereign bond issuance have continued to make market-based borrowing difficult for the administration.
As a result, the government has turned toward official multilateral and bilateral lenders as a potential financing route. The newly authorized borrowing framework gives economic officials greater authority to negotiate with international institutions while defining the conditions of each individual operation.
The decree does not specify individual lenders or the timing of future borrowing agreements but establishes the legal framework under which the government can pursue up to $5 billion in new foreign debt. The administration’s move reflects its effort to secure additional financing channels while private market access remains constrained by elevated borrowing costs.
