The fourth review of the economic program with the IMF began

The round of meetings began between officials of the Ministry of Economy and technicians of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to analyze the level of compliance with the goals in the framework of the fourth review of the Extended Facilities Agreement, to enable a new disbursement of US $ 5,400 million of the agency. Deputy Economy Minister Gabriel Rubinstein and the ministry’s chief adviser, Leonardo Madcur, are leading the negotiations. For their part, IMF spokesmen pointed out that “in line with previous reviews, these technical discussions have begun in a hybrid format” (both virtual and face-to-face). In this context, one of the issues that Argentina will raise again during the talks with the IMF is the economic impact of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In mid-January, the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, considered that the agency is failing to fulfill its commitment to review the costs of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.In that sense, the Government estimated at the end of last year that the cost of the war for the Argentine economy is around USD 5,000 million due to the rise in international prices of the energy sector, fertilizers and freight, which were not compensated by the increase in the values of agricultural products. Regarding the review of the third quarter of 2022, the agency’s board of directors said that the objectives “were on track.” While applying a waiver or waiver for the multiplicity of exchange rates existing in the country, it considered that it was a temporary measure that would be lifted as soon as possible. Regarding the current year, the Ministry of Economy highlighted the challenges for the administration of public accounts, which are affected, among other factors, by the drought that punishes the countryside, which is estimated to contribute about USD 10,000 million less income from exports.

Original source in Spanish