Asoex: It is time for authorities to implement capital controls Entity said one of the most important factors are the strong expectations of a rise in the benchmark currency by the Central Bank.
SANTIAGO .- Given the steady decline in the dollar, which has led to their lowest level in three years, and prospects for further decline, the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile (Asoex) estimated that requires "urgent intervention by the economic authorities, including measures to be supported and controls the entry of speculative capital.
In a tough statement, the agency said that policy makers in recent times have focused on just "monitor exchange rate developments," and a "theoretical discussion" about the effects of implementing certain measures, "which does not help solve or alleviate the serious problem we are facing."
"Since we started this, the industry has made continuous efforts to improve their competitiveness. However, any economic activity can manage in the short term, the magnitude of the drop experienced by the exchange rate. Consequently, we believe that it is time that our authorities to implement innovative measures, specific corrective and long term, "said President Asoex, Ronald Bown.
added that "without doubt one of the factors that have undermined the dollar's value have been the heavy financial pressures and rising expectations of monetary reference rate by the Central Bank, compared with maintenance in minimum levels of the benchmark U.S. of America. "
In this scenario, "it is urgent adoption by policymakers of extraordinary measures and immediately, in order to prevent speculative capital flows, causing further damage to already depressed the competitiveness of export sectors and does not charge import substitution. "
indicated that the proposal to install capital controls aimed at preventing the real exchange rate continued its decline and, therefore, this measure should be considered "insurance, so that its application would be designed to avoid a situation irreversible, with detrimental effects for a large part of the country's economy. "
In this sense, it was emphasized that for the controls are effective, they must meet three basic requirements: be surprising, variables and complete, in the sense that must be taken both by the Central Bank as the Ministry of Finance coordinated and simultaneous manner, in order to cover all the channels through which financial operators without any restriction made the famous "carry-trade."
also said it is important that the controls are "not anticipated by the market (to increase the risk of carry-trade) and are inversely proportional to the deviation of the exchange rate of its long-term."
"We are convinced that much of the current value of the dollar does not reflect the fundamentals of our economy and less long-term value, but only the financial agents' expectations, a situation that we must correct such as country," said Bown.