Transcript of the IMFC Press Conference

IMF News, October 14, 2017

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Chair: Agustín Carstens, Chairman, International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
Managing Director: Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF.
Date: October 14, 2017.
Main consensus: "The global outlook is strengthening" and this "welcome upturn is a window of opportunity" to address key policy challenges and raise potential growth.
Near-term risks: "broadly balanced."
Medium-term risks: "tilted to the downside."
No room for complacency emphasized.

Monetary policy:
- Should "remain accommodative, where inflation is still below target and output gaps are negative."
- Monetary policy alone cannot support the recovery.
Fiscal policy:
- Need for "growth-friendly fiscal policies that still ensure public debt is on a sustainable path."
Structural reforms:
- "Well-sequenced structural reforms adapted to the members" to lift productivity and promote growth and employment.
Inclusion and productivity:
- Policies to "boost productivity and promote inclusiveness."
Endorsements:
- Committee "strongly endorsed the Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda" and the IMF’s work to "deepen the recovery, build resilience, promote inclusion, and expand opportunities for all."

Supported IMF’s role in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Welcomed efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of capacity development.
Endorsed a review of the IMF’s lending facilities for low-income countries, including preparedness and response to natural disasters and assistance for fragile states recovering from conflicts.
Supported further IMF work on:
- Governance and corruption issues.
- External sector assessment.
- Strengthening the global financial safety net, "having the IMF at the center of it."
Continued work to agree on the way forward on members’ quotas.

India:
- IMF growth forecast for the year lowered to "6.7 percent", with demonetization and GST cited as "transient reasons".
- Assessment: medium- and long-term growth path "much more solid" due to recent structural reforms.
- Observations: demonetization and collapsing "40 different taxes into one single GST" amounted to a monumental effort with short-term implementation effects.
- Policy emphasis: combination of fiscal consolidation (deficit reduced), low inflation, and structural reforms to deliver jobs.

Indonesia:
- Indonesia to host the 2018 Annual Meetings; hosting seen as a showcase and economic opportunity.
- IMF growth forecasts cited: "5.2, 5.3" for Indonesia going forward.
- Policy recommendations: continue structural reforms, strengthen focus on growth and resilience, sustain tax collection and revenue generation efforts (including follow-up to the tax amnesty).
- International cooperation: importance of information-sharing and IT systems to fight tax evasion and improve enforcement.

Mexico and inclusion/corruption:
- Inclusion of women and anti-corruption measures highlighted as essential for sustainable growth and to prevent persistent lagging.
- IMF operational approach: produce analytical work, systematize policy recommendations, and deliver capacity-building.
- Gender-related measures mentioned: gender budgeting, public spending to facilitate women's workforce access, and tax-system changes to avoid unequal taxation of women as secondary earners.

Trade and NAFTA:
- Trade described as a "very powerful engine for growth, for innovation, for competition, and for productivity."
- Revisiting longstanding agreements is legitimate given global change; objective is modernization that can be "a win-win for all countries."
- Specific to NAFTA: recognition of NAFTA's importance to Mexico and expectation that negotiations can be modernized to be fair and productive for the three countries.

Iran:
- IMF operations: "we operate with 189 members, and we only provide support and enter into program negotiations when a country asks for it."
- No change signaled to IMF operational guidelines in response to external political statements.

Use of technology and IT systems: stressed as essential to facilitate international information sharing, verify declarations, and combat tax evasion, anti-money laundering, and financing of terrorism.
Inclusion programs and pilots:
- IMF has completed "more than 20 pilots" and has "another 13 underway" on inclusion of women.
Anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism work: IMF has worked with "more than 120 countries" and plans deeper, more granular identification of corruption.
Chairmanship note: Agustín Carstens’ last IMFC meeting as Chair; he assumed chairmanship in "March 2015."

Date of transcript: October 14, 2017.
IMF membership count referenced: "189 members."
India forecast for the year: "6.7 percent."
India policy change: "collapsing 40 different taxes into one single GST."
Indonesia growth forecasts mentioned: "5.2, 5.3."
Number of pilots completed on women’s inclusion: "more than 20 pilots now completed, another 13 underway."
Countries worked with on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism: "more than 120 countries."
Agustín Carstens assumed IMFC chairmanship in "March 2015."

Source: Transcript of the IMFC Press Conference, October 14, 2017.