The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, confirmed before the directors of the Argentine Chamber of Construction (Camarco) that in the next few days the national government will make a definition on the mechanism that will be implemented to ensure the availability of foreign exchange for the different branches of production, in order to sustain the level of activity and employment.
The issue was one of the central axes analyzed by the minister and Camarco’s business leadership during a luncheon held at the chamber’s headquarters, located in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo, where Massa was received by President Gustav Weiss and the vice presidents León Zakalik, Fernando Porreta, Carlos Bacher and Carlos Galuccio, among other directors.
Also during the meeting the impact of inflation on construction activity was analyzed, compliance with the 2022 Budget in terms of guaranteeing the funds for public works and the proposal of the sector to resume in Congress a project to implement mortgage credit that takes the Salary Variation Coefficient (CVS) as the updating base.
construction entrepreneurs took advantage of lunch reaffirm your position regarding that the Dollars available in the economy should be allocated to the import of inputs required by the industry.
“The position of the Chamber is that dollars must be privileged for industry, so that activity and employment do not stop, and what is consumer spending in general should eventually have another dollar that does not compete with the need of the productive sectors,” Weiss said in dialogue with the press at the end of the meeting.
The businessman assured that Massa told them that “this issue would be part of the measures that are being analyzed within the foreign trade operation”.
Weiss also remarked that -in his opinion- the minister is convinced that “We have to guarantee the few dollars that there are for industrial supplies”.
The directors explained to the minister that the problem for the activity is found both in the administration of the Comprehensive Import Monitoring System (SIMI) as in access to foreign exchange because “construction has inputs directly imported for the execution of works and others that are needed by suppliers to deliver the products they manufacture.”
“In the next few days there will be conceptual clarity on the issue and those SIMIs that are approved will be assured of foreign exchange and the operation will be simplified,” Weiss said, citing Massa’s expressions made during lunch.
Foreign exchange, budget, mortgage credit
Camarco’s request regarding the need for the foreign currency goes to industry is similar to the one that the Minister of Economy received previously in other meetings that it maintained with different business entities such as the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) or the Argentine Chamber of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME)to which several SME entities joined.
Last week, at the end of a meeting held with CAME in Lomas de ZamoraMassa said that the Government is going to encourage the import system to be “simple and transparent” for the intermediate goods that companies require to sustain and increase their activity, and stressed that “the priority” is that “every available dollar goes to the production”.
Previously, when he visited the UIA headquartersone of the topics discussed was how to preserve the reserves of the Central Bank and prioritize access to them for the productive sector, as well as the possibility of restricting the operation of the “tourist dollar” in the face of an increase in demand that is anticipated will face the World Cup in Qatar and the summer season.
Another issue discussed today that concerns the construction sector was “the compliance with the goals of the Budget for this year destined for public works” Weiss reviewed.
“The minister commented that all the ministries have their budget assigned and approved and he guarantees us that the money will be there to pay the commitments as appropriate for all the works that are carried out,” said the businessman, noting that there is currently “a non-significant delay with respect to the invoice date of 30 days”.
According to the portfolio Public Works, Currently there are around 5,000 works underway throughout the country, which should reach a share of 1.6% of the Gross Domestic Product in the 2022 Budget, a percentage similar to that expected for the 2023 budget execution that will be are under review by Congress.
Weiss added that in the project if some additional items are taken investment in public works could be equivalent to 1.9% of GDP next year.
“We also ask for your help – he added – on another issue linked to Congress, particularly with regard to money laundering for works under construction that the budget project proposes that it can be extended to used buildings and we need to make the clarification that they are used or finished new ones, so as not to limit that possibility of investment”.
The builders also asked to promote in Parliament “the law of mortgage credit with Salary Variation Coefficientpresented in 2020 and which lost parliamentary status”.
“For a mortgage credit scheme of this type to work, we know that inflation levels have to be lower. The minister told us that he hopes that inflation will drop substantially by the middle of next year,” Weiss said on an issue of particular concern. for the industry.
“Today the sector has a central and serious problem, which is inflation, because all public works contracts have a price redetermination system through a formula to maintain contracts at constant values, but that does not work with these inflations,” stressed the businessman. .
