Argentina reaches staff-level agreement with the IMF

The Argentine government reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday. If approved by the lender’s board, it would allow access to about US$1 billion. The same day, Economy Minister Luis Caputo arrived in Washington D.C. to attend the IMF Spring Meetings and meet with the lender’s head, Kristalina Georgieva. It is the second review of the US$20 billion loan the Javier Milei’s administration struck with the lender last year, which piles up with a previous US$45 billion debt the country took in 2018 during Mauricio Macri’s government. The fund’s statement celebrated some of Milei’s measures, such as the labor reform, trade agreements and a legislation allowing corporates “to repatriate dividends for the first time in six years.” “Reform momentum has significantly strengthened in recent months,” said the communiqué. “The administration has secured congressional approval of the 2026 Budget and critical legislation aimed at formalizing holdings of financial assets by residents, enhancing labor market flexibility, ratifying critical trade agreements, and unlocking investments in mining,” it added. More highlights The fund also highlighted the Central Bank’s purchases of U.S. dollars which, it said, exceeded US$5.5 billion so far this year. “Argentina continues to weather well spillovers from the Middle East war, given ongoing improvements in its fundamentals and status as a net energy exporter,” the statement said. The fund said Argentina is refinancing its U.S. dollar debt by issuing dollar-denominated domestic-law debt and selling state-owned assets, as well as getting central bank repos and external loans, potentially backed by international financial institutions. It added that the strategy is to get the country back to international capital markets “over time.” The statement said that the country made “significant progress” in deregulating and opening the economy, and that upcoming reforms would “unlock the potential of Argentina’s strategic sectors in agriculture, energy, mining, and the knowledge economy.” “IMF staff welcomes the strong and constructive engagement with the authorities and their continued commitment to the program, including the implementation of corrective measures to address earlier setbacks” the Fund said.