## Transcript of the IMFC Press Conference

_IMF News, October 14, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Transcript of the IMFC Press Conference](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2017/10/14/tr101417-imfc-press-conference)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: October 14, 2017

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### Meeting overview
- 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.

### Global outlook and policy recommendations
- 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."

### IMF institutional and cooperative work
- 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.

### Country-specific notes and policy advice

- 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.

### Technical and operational points
- 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."

### Key statistics and figures (verbatim)
- 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.*

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## References

- [India and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/IND/index.htm)
- [Indonesia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/IDN/index.htm)
- [Islamic Republic of Iran and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/IRN/index.htm)
- [Mexico and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/MEX/index.htm)
- [The IMF and Good Governance -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2023/the-imf-and-good-governance)
- [Transcripts](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2017/10/14/tr101417-imfc-press-conference_