U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will urge his counterparts in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to press ahead with economic and fiscal reforms aimed at restoring or strengthening growth, a senior Treasury official said on Friday. Lew will be visiting the four largest Latin American economies this week beginning with Argentina on Monday, recognizing efforts by President Mauricio Macri to reintegrate Argentina into the global economy.
United States Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew celebrated Argentina's return to international markets and reintegration to the global economy, following the final settlement with holdout creditors, which it described as a major milestone not only for Argentina but for the global financial system.
Argentina received support for its economic reforms from the United States, China and Europe during the Finance ministers meeting held in Shanghai over the weekend in anticipation of the G20 heads of state and government summit next June, according to a release from the Argentine Finance ministry.
The United States gave another sign of support for Argentina’s economic policies as US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew spoke on the phone with Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay, striking an optimistic tone regarding the settlement offer made to the holdout funds in New York.
Mauricio Macri expects to meet with Barack Obama at the end of next March when the Argentine president attends in Washington the summit on Nuclear Security of which Argentina is a member. The event takes place between 31 March and first April, and if the meeting effectively takes place, it would mean the return of the formal dialogue between the two countries, rather frozen under his predecessor Cristina Fernandez.
The United States is ending its policy of opposing most lending to Argentina from multilateral development banks, the US Treasury Department announced. US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew informed Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay of the move on Thursday when the two met in Davos, Switzerland, the department said in a statement.
Argentina's incoming Finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay spoke with the United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to discuss economic plans to achieve sustained economic growth. The minister also announced in a long interview with Buenos Aires main dailies that lifting the dollar 'clamp' as promised by president-elect Mauricio Macri, will much depend on the level of international reserves Argentina can count with.
Chinese shares were lower on Wednesday as its central bank again devalued the yuan, following Tuesday's record cut. The People's Bank of China fixed the daily guiding rate for the currency down 1.6% to 6.3306 against the dollar.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday analyzed the Greek situation in separate telephone calls to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House said. Obama began his day with a phone conversation with Merkel, followed by another call to Tsipras.
The United States warned on Friday of a possible accident for the world economy if Greece and its creditors miss their June deadlines to avert a debt default. Germany said there was no sign of a breakthrough. The ongoing debate is taking place in Dresden, Germany in the framework of G7 Finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting.