The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, confirmed on Tuesday that Negotiations continue with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the reformulation of the current program. “We talked (with the IMF) about imports, the trade balance and the strengthening of reserves, and about Somehow the damage that the drought has caused us in exports this year appeared“Masa detailed.
“Yesterday we had several meetings with the IMF and they know that Argentina has an anchor that the previous government left and conditions development“, said Massa this afternoon during an act in which the Ford automaker announced an investment of US$660 million in the General Pacheco plant, where it will produce the new model of the Ford Ranger truck.
Regarding Ford’s investment, the official highlighted the importance of the initiative by maintaining that “Each dollar in the hands of these workers is worth twice as much, because it is with added value and because it compensates for the enormous damage that the drought did to Argentina.”
Regarding the negotiations with the IMF, it is expected that within a few days, when the virtual negotiations end, according to Economy sources, A delegation from the Argentine economic team will leave for Washington to move forward with the closing of the agreement.
The Vice President of the Central Bank, Lisandro Cleri; the Secretary for Economic Policy, Gabriel Rubinstein; and the director of INDEC, Marco Lavagna, are those appointed by the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, to carry out the negotiations on the impact that the drought had on reserves and public accounts, among other issues.
They would continue with the technical discussions with the staff of the Monetary Fund, in order to advance with the negotiations that contemplate a reformulation of the Extended Facilities program lasting three and a half yearsin the context of the historical drought suffered by the country and which, according to the latest official calculations, caused losses of at least $18 billion.
The officials were initially scheduled to travel to the US capital between June 12 and 14, although that date could be delayed to face the “last mile discussion” with the IMF, according to the words Massa used in his last trip to China, referring to the Argentine mission. Likewise, it is speculated that Massa would only travel after the end of the negotiations, with the next June 20 as the estimated date.
Source: Ambito
