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IMF Trade / Argentina / Ukraine

Release Date: 09 May 2019   |   Washington, DC
CSF - BiWeekly Press Briefing UN
The IMF supports the progress made to date by Argentine authorities and believes that the program is on the right track, but still faces significant challenges, spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters Thursday in Washington, DC.
“No one certainly not at the IMF would want to minimize the challenges that need to be faced and that Argentina and the Argentine people are facing. It's as you know it's a major set of challenges. But again we think that important progress has been made that should not be overlooked,” said Rice.
A team of IMF experts are in Buenos Aires this week assessing progress.
“We think that this program of stabilizing the economy and transitioning the economy to be more open and resilient is the right program. We believe that implementation of that program is is the right is the right way forward,” Rice noted.
And as Chinese trade negotiators are preparing to meet with the Trump Administration to head off new sanctions, the IMF hopes that a speedy resolution to tensions can be negotiated.
“Everybody loses in a protracted trade conflict,” Rice said, reiterating comments by Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
“If trade is damaged then it threatens growth. And when we we talked about the risks to the outlook recently in the context of our World Economic Outlook Update during the spring meetings we did talk about trade as one of the risks to growth that we saw out there.”
“So we are really in the mode that we've been in for some time which is to encourage all parties to seek a resolution that supports and strengthens the international trading system. And so we we'd be hoping for a speedy resolution to these discussions,” Rice announced.
And Lagarde has been in touch with incoming Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky to express support and to encourage further progress on badly needed reforms in that country.
“The managing director in fact has been in touch with Mr. Zelensky on his election as president of Ukraine and underscored that the IMF continues to stand ready to support Ukraine and to help it meet the challenges that lie ahead,” Rice said.
“Let me say also Madame Lagarde was also in touch at the same time with outgoing President Poroshenko thanking him for close cooperation during his presidency and expressing the the hope and the expectation that progress under the economic program would continue.”
You can see the whole news conference at:
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