Argentine President Javier Milei addressed the nation on Tuesday (10.12.2024) in a recorded video broadcast on national television, in order to take stock of the main achievements made during his first year in office. In his speech, he took the opportunity to reflect on the future. “As we promised, in the second quarter economic activity began to pick up, which shows that fulfilling duties is yielding results. This trend will continue next year,” said Milei.
The president highlighted the reforms related to foreign trade, underlining its fundamental role as a driver of economic growth and Argentina's integration into the global arena.Growth is here to stay", the president said, noting that together with the fiscal surplus, these conditions are essential to accelerate the recovery of the Argentine economy. However, he stressed that the country's true potential will only be unleashed when "the chains of foreign trade that are suffocating us today" are broken.
In this context, he announced a series of measures aimed at promoting greater openness and competitiveness in the exchange of goods and services. Key announcements include:
Reforms in MERCOSUR. In line with his speech when assuming the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR for the first semester of 2025, Milei highlighted the progress made at the bloc's recent Summit, stressing "the urgent need to eliminate non-tariff barriers that hinder intraregional trade." According to Milei, these bureaucratic obstacles not only slow down trade within MERCOSUR, but also increase the costs of products, negatively affecting both producers and consumers.
Another of the proposals highlighted by the Argentine president was the reduction of the common external tariff, a measure he described as essential to alleviate the cost of living of the citizens of the bloc. “This tariff does not offer any tangible benefit and only acts as a brake on our competitiveness,” he explained.
Towards a free trade agreement with the United States In a gesture that marks a paradigm shift in Argentine trade policy, Milei announced his intention to negotiate a free trade agreement with the United States during the next year. “It is an agreement that should have been finalized 19 years ago. Imagine how much we would have grown in these almost two decades if we had had the opportunity to trade with the world's leading power,” he declared.
President Milei attributed the lack of such agreements in the past to what he called “the refusal of a group of bureaucrats who opposed the benefits of free trade.” With this new strategy, he assured that Argentina will stop turning its back on the world and will seek to regain a prominent place in global trade.
Trade as an engine of prosperity. In one of the most emphatic passages of his speech, Milei highlighted the relationship between trade and prosperity. “There is no prosperity without trade, and there is no trade without freedom,” he said, stressing that trade openness is not only an economic strategy, but also a commitment to individual and collective freedom.
The presidential message also sought to send a signal to the international community about Argentina's willingness to fully reintegrate into global trade. "Our ultimate goal in MERCOSUR is to strengthen the autonomy of its members vis-à-vis the rest of the world, allowing each country to trade freely with whomever it deems appropriate," he concluded.
With this assessment, Milei reaffirmed his commitment to transform the Argentine economy through forceful reforms, aiming for a future where the country recovers its competitiveness and prominence on the international stage.National broadcast of President Javier Milei)
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