- The Minister of Economy spoke virtually at the IDEA Colloquium, held in Mar del Plata, where he thanked them for ‘all their cooperation.’
- ‘At this point, I find it almost archaic that people believe the only way Argentina can be competitive is by having a weak currency,’ he said.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo spoke on Thursday before the country’s leading business leaders gathered at the IDEA Colloquium in Mar del Plata, assuring them that ‘second-generation reforms are coming, namely labour and tax reforms.’
‘It is clear that this is the path that will benefit many Argentines. Now comes the second stage of what are the second-generation reforms: essentially, we are referring to labour reform and tax reform,’ Caputo stressed.
In a message recorded from the United States, lasting less than eight minutes, the national official explained: “Labour reform is essential. We come from an archaic, rigid and unpredictable labour regime, where you are the first to suffer, which is why employment has not grown since 2011.‘
’We need a more agile, more dynamic labour regime that puts an end to the litigation industry, which only favours a handful of people at the expense of all Argentines,” he argued.
In addition, the head of the Treasury stated that they are going to ‘undertake a tax reform that will involve the elimination of many taxes and the reduction of others. The simplification of the tax system, I would say. And one thing that is very important to me: there will be significant incentives to develop domestic savings.’
In another part of his brief speech, the minister assured that devaluation does not lead to competitiveness: ‘We believe that there should be no more devaluation. At this point, I find it almost archaic that people believe that the only way Argentina can be competitive is by having a weak currency.’
‘We believe that the way to gain competitiveness is to continue with what we are doing: lowering taxes, this labour and tax reform, and starting to have much more long-term financing at much more reasonable rates,’ he argued.
The official then asked business leaders to ‘continue to support this change’ implemented by Javier Milei’s government. ‘I know that for many it is difficult because we come from many years of a very different system, of a closed economy,’ he said.
‘Opening up to competition and having to invest is a challenge, but we have to think that ultimately we have to build a new country. And this is fundamental for the 45 million Argentines who want and need this change,’ he emphasised.
In closing, the Minister of Economy said: ‘Once again, thank you all for your cooperation. I want to tell you that we believe and are absolutely confident and certain that Argentina will become the freest country within the next 20 years. Argentina will be the country with the highest growth within the next 20 years, and you can also be sure that we will give our all to achieve these goals.’
‘We are going to work 24/7 to truly fulfil that dream that I am sure all Argentinians share, which is for our country to once again become a powerhouse,’ he concluded.
