With the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved in Congress, the national government advances in the fight against inflation, with the creation of the Wheat Stabilizer Fund and the modification of the current withholding scheme of products derived from soybeans, as well as with a call starting next Monday to different sectors to expand the package of measures.
After last night’s message from President Alberto Fernández from Olivos, The Executive Power made official this Saturday -with its publication in the Official Gazette- the first two measures.
One of them is the creation of the Argentine Wheat Stabilizer Fund, with the aim of stabilize the cost of a ton of wheat that the Argentine mills buy and reduce the local impact of the sharp rise in the international price as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, two countries that concentrate almost 29 percent of world exports of this cereal.
In addition, with another decree, the Government modified the current withholding scheme for products derived from soybeans, such as oil and flourfrom the removal of the difference between industrialized products and unprocessed products within the soybean complex.
Domínguez announced the suspension of the 2% spread on soybean meal and oil export duties.
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Thus, these by-products will go from being taxed 31% to 33% for export dutieswhich implies a rise of two points in the rate, until at least December 31 of this year.
Through their social networks, ministers and secretaries joined the “Lower inflation” campaign, in support of the action plan presented last night by Fernández.
“#LowerInflation it is a priority. For this reason, within the framework of the action plan presented by the President, we will work together with the governors and with all the mayors so that the measures we adopt reach every corner of the country”, published the chief of staff, Juan Manzur, on his Twitter account.
#LowerInflation it is a priority.
That is why, within the framework of the action plan presented by the president @alferdezwe will work together with the governors and with all the mayors so that the measures we adopt reach every corner of the country. pic.twitter.com/FFXWoLffuD– Juan Manzur (@JuanManzurOK) March 19, 2022
The approval on Thursday in the Senate of the law that endorses the Extended Facilities Program to be held between Argentina and the IMF, which came with half a sanction from Deputies, partly opened the way for the coming agenda: The President wants to overcome the debt debate and move towards the fight against inflation.
“We needed to clear up that central issue,” they point out in Balcarce 50, and they explain that, in addition to debt restructuring, “in that agreement there are also tools that have to do with the fight against inflation.”
“We all know the inflation that was reported on Tuesday, but we don’t know if the war in Ukraine is going to stop, so global inflation is likely to continue to rise at rates hitherto unknown. So a number of measures need to be taken.” “, they admit.
The Ministers of Economy, Martín Guzmán; of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing; Julian Dominguez; and Productive Development, Matías Kulfas; and the Secretary of Commerce, Roberto Felleti; They were the ones who worked in recent days on the measures announced by the President and will explain the details in the coming days.
As reconstructed by a member of the Government with an office in the Casa Rosada, the position of Together for Change (JxC) of trying to bring down the session in the Upper House due to a possible increase in withholdings on agricultural exports “was given by Patricia Bulrich through of a Whatsapp in which it summoned its members to a meeting”, and referred that there were “several conversations with the opposition to clarify this point”. Finally, just as it did in the Chamber of Deputies, the opposition coalition approved the agreement.
The Ministers of Economy, Martín Guzmán; of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing; Julian Dominguez; and Productive Development, Matías Kulfas; and the Secretary of Commerce, Roberto Felleti; They were the ones who worked in the last dayss in the measures announced by the President on Friday; and they will explain the details in the coming days.
The head of Labor, Claudio Moroni, the secretary of Economic Relations of the Foreign Ministry, Cecilia Todesca Bocco, and the head of the AFIP, Mercedes Marco del Pont, also participated last night in Olivos in the final review of the plan that will be announced progressively through of each Ministry.
This Saturday, Domínguez was in charge of specifying at a press conference that what was established is a “temporary suspension of the 2% differential on soybean meal and oil export duties of decree 790/2020”, and that “this suspension of these export duties will cause them to return to 33%a percentage that the companies already discount from the producer”.
Likewise, Domínguez reported that the necessary measures will be implemented “to stabilize the price of wheat at pre-war valuesas long as the consequences of the increase because of this war last” between Russia and Ukraine.
On Monday it is expected that it will be the turn of Kulfas and on Tuesday an economic and social agreement table would be convened, with the participation of representatives of the productive sectors, businessmen, formal workers and the popular economy, references from the countryside and commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises and civil society.
In the Government they admit that on the subject of prices there is “a problem with nearby businesses” and not with supermarkets, which according to the latest inflation rate are respecting the Careful Prices.
They also acknowledge concern about the rise in March, after the United Nations reported that there will be “30% inflation in food in all the countries of the world and Argentina comes with a base of 50%”.
“In Spain they don’t get oil and in Italy they don’t get pasta. We are in a serious problem in the world and that is obviously going to have an impact on Argentina. What everyone who knows tells us is that the international situation is serious. If the The war does not end next week, we are going to live in a world economy that we do not know”, they point out from the Casa Rosada.
On Wednesday, businessmen and trade unionists agreed to a 45% increase in the Minimum Vital and Mobile Wagewhich was signed in the afternoon by Fernández, who took the opportunity to convene them from next Monday to start agreeing on that anti-inflationary package.
“The President told us that On Monday he is going to make a call to start talking about this whole situation and find a path towards the formalization of agreements that allow our country to lower the inflationary process. which is deteriorating day by day the income of workers, retirees and all sectors have fixed incomes”, said one of the co-secretaries general of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) Héctor Daer.
Meanwhile, the president of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) Daniel Funes de Rioja also welcomed “the President’s call for this dialogue, for this construction“, and was “convinced in working together on the country’s problems and facing these global problems” generated from the coronavirus pandemic and the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine “to give the country predictability” and to allow “greater investment and growth.”
The general secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA) and pro-government national deputy Hugo Yasky agreed with them and pointed out that “the concern is to contain the increase in prices.”
