US ECONOMICS

IMMIGRATION

U.S. Department of State. 04/13/2020. United States Continues U.S. Foreign Assistance for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

Today I informed Congress of the Administration’s intent to continue additional targeted U.S. foreign assistance for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.  This important step will continue to implement the President’s policy goals of decreasing illegal immigration to the United States; implementing the Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACAs); promoting U.S. national security interests; and providing critical, lifesaving assistance to these countries.

President Trump asked the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to take responsibility and firm action to help combat illegal immigration to the United States.  As a result of our unprecedented efforts and the response of the governments of our three Central American partners, encounters of Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran migrants have decreased 76 percent since the humanitarian and security crisis at the U.S. southern border peaked in May 2019.  Since early 2019, the three Central American governments have signed a combined 14 historic agreements and made arrangements with the United States to strengthen cooperation to deter illegal immigration to the United States.  To support further progress, additional targeted Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding will be made available.  This funding will support programs to continue our joint efforts to deter illegal immigration to the United States, complement existing security plans for each government that will assist them as they continue to build stronger asylum systems, and augment private sector efforts to create economic opportunity in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The United States commends the commitment of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras toward reaching our shared goal of reduced illegal immigration from these countries to the United States.  We look forward to continuing this important work with our partners in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as we help them build secure and prosperous futures for their citizens at home.

CORONAVIRUS

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Jack Harris of WFLA-AM Tampa Bay. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  It’s 8:52 on AM Tampa Bay, and we are mighty proud to have with us U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on board here now.

And Secretary Pompeo, I know that the administration is looking hard at trying to bring an end to this thing and to get the economy back in shape.  And what do we see happening next?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, first of all, thanks for having me on this morning.  It’s great to be with you.

We’re engaged in multiple sets of efforts.  You’ve seen many of them.  First is making sure that we have everything for our health care providers to deliver good health care for the American people.  We’re now turning to the task of making sure we do everything necessary to get folks back to work.

I was talking with some friends back in Kansas this weekend.  They are anxious to have the opportunity to get back to a more normal routine.  They were missing their church at Easter; they were missing the opportunity to be out working, taking care of their families.  And so we’re now very focused on that as well.

At the State Department, we had tens of thousands of Americans who were trapped, stranded overseas, and we’ve now brought back over 61,000 Americans who got stuck when air travel closed down, trains and buses stopped moving around the world.  We’re very proud of the fact we got them all back home, back safely to their families.

QUESTION:  Yeah, that number continues to grow.  It was 50,000 last week.  Now, like you mentioned, over 60,000.  How far do we have to go as far as bringing everyone home that wants to return home?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So it’s a rolling deal, because you still have countries that haven’t closed down yet, but they could today or tomorrow if the virus hits them particularly hard.  So I’m sure there’ll be people in the days and weeks ahead who raise their hand and say, “Hey, we need a little help getting back.”  We’re ready to do that.  We hope that everyone will use real caution if they think about traveling in the course of the next week or two and reach out to the State Department and go to our website and check out our travel advisories before they go.  Better to be wise.

But we’re going to do everything we can.  We still have a bunch of folks who are out there who want help getting back.  Often they’re in difficult, remote locations.  So we’ve pulled people out from the Amazon rainforest to places near Mount Everest, people stranded all across the world; 109 countries now we’ve had to bring folks back from.  We’re determined to help everyone who needs help getting back to get back here.  There’s several – I think it’s 500-plus plane flights at this point.  It’s been an enormous logistical undertaking.  But the State Department team, under the direction of President Trump, has done remarkable work.  The videos from some of these people thanking what – thanking the State Department for what we’ve done have been truly, truly moving.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  We’re talking to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  And Secretary Pompeo, the big question on everybody’s mind is:  When will it be over?  When can we get back to normal?  And nobody knows for sure.  The President has been pretty optimistic on this, and for that reason we’re all hoping he’s right.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah.  I think you got it right.  I don’t think anybody can say for certain precisely when that day will come.  But the President has talked about how we’re thinking about it, how he’s thinking about it.  He knows how important it is for people to get back to the things that they know and the things that they love.  And we are trying to lay the groundwork now, working alongside governors and states all across America, to put them in a position where we know that the health care system is sufficient, we know that the testing capabilities are sufficient, and we know that we’re in a place where now Americans can start to go back.

I think about a place like my home in Wichita, Kansas.  I know those people want to get back to the things that they know and love.  And we aim to get them back just as quickly as we can.  I can’t give you a date today.  I don’t think the President can either.  But we know that we are headed in that direction.  We think we’ve now hit a moment where we’ve seen the height of the cases.  At least we hope that’s the case.  And we are working diligently to deliver on all of the elements of what the American people need to feel safe and secure so they can get back out there and rejoin their normal lives.

QUESTION:  Let me ask you about China here.  How transparent do you think China’s been since the beginning and as of late?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  We know how important it is that every country be transparent.  Your first question was about when do we come back – your second question was about when do we come back.  That turns on data.  It means you have to have good, accurate, transparent data.  People have to share the number of cases they have, the number of fatalities.  Look, we know this virus originated in Wuhan, China, and we know at the front end that we were unable to get our teams in to evaluate what the risks were, what the transmission rates were, all the things that we were talking about back in February and March of this year.

We still have that requirement.  It is still the case that we need good data from all across the world.  And so we need every country, including the Chinese Communist Party, to share that data broadly, to be transparent.  That data saves lives.  It saves lives here in the United States and it saves lives all across the world.  It is our expectation, President Trump’s expectation, that every government will do that, including China.

QUESTION:  Well, Secretary Pompeo, we certainly appreciate your joining us this morning on AM Tampa Bay.  And anytime you have a message for our people, just let us know.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you very much.  Thank you for having me on today.  I truly appreciate it.  You all have a good day.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Bud Hedinger of Good Morning Orlando. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Good Morning Orlando here on WFLA across the Florida peninsula.  (Inaudible) live this morning.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  It’s great to be with you today.  Great to be with you today.

QUESTION:  What is your assessment of the administration’s response to the coronavirus?  I mean, you’ve – for years, you were in politics in your home state of Kansas.  You’re looking at this across the land right now.  What are your thoughts?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So I’ve watched the entire administration under the President’s leadership work – work with governors, work with counties, work with medical providers to deliver good outcomes for the American people.  I’ve watched what has been the tragic loss of life here in the United States over these past weeks.  I’ve watched all the challenges and hardship that take place, even from friends of mine back home in Kansas, who can’t go to work, can’t do the things that they love and have always wanted to do.  It was a very difficult Easter Sunday for folks.

But I’ve also watched the American people respond in ways that are in the finest traditions of our country.  And I’ve watched President Trump lead our team assisting – to providing the assistance that every American needs, both the – on the health care side, which everyone’s seen, and now what the Treasury Department is doing to make sure that there are financial resources that are made available, consistent with what Congress provided for them.  So I’m very hopeful that we are turning the corner and heading in the right direction to fight back against this incredibly difficult challenge, this virus.

QUESTION:  How about the worldwide perspective?  As our top diplomat, Mr. Secretary, what about the worldwide perspective?  You’re in touch with countries.  I know you were doing interviews on the German media yesterday.  I mean, in terms of the world getting beyond the coronavirus, do you feel – and globally – that we have turned the corner?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Every country’s been hit at different times.  This is a virus that began in Wuhan, China.  They were impacted first.  You saw the tragedies that took place in Italy, where their health care system was overwhelmed.  Now you have other places that are a little bit after those places, like Brazil.  The United Kingdom is still struggling mightily.  I’m very hopeful that we can collectively work together to push back against this virus.  As we’ve seen, it comes in across the boundary.  People travel; it gets into our country.  We need to do everything we can to make sure we take care of people back here at home, but then make sure that this virus is stamped out all across the world so it doesn’t come back in here to our country.

QUESTION:  Amen to that.  Before we move on to other things, I know you wanted to talk about the unprecedented efforts that our government is making in your State Department to repatriate U.S. citizens caught overseas in the middle of a pandemic.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, I’m sure many of your listeners had family members or knew people who were traveling.  They were on a mission trip or they were taking a vacation or traveling on business, and all of a sudden, airlines shut down, buses stop moving, trains stop moving all across the world.

We’ve now brought back over 61,000 United States citizens from all across the world, from 109 countries, flown several hundred flights all across the world to bring these stranded Americans back.  It’s been quite an undertaking.  I’m very proud of what our team did.  But mostly, I’m happy.  I’m happy that we got these people back to their families, back to their homes, back to the places that they know and love so much, and they’re not trapped and stranded somewhere.  We still have folks who are there, and I will tell you there are still people out there traveling.  If you need assistance, you reach out to the State Department, and we’ll do our best to make sure everybody gets back.

QUESTION:  Yeah, we’re talking live to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  Mr. Secretary, a number of State Department employees were infected with the coronavirus.  What’s their status?  And if they have been or are in lockdown, is this impacting U.S. diplomacy around the world?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So our team has been great.  We’ve done all the right things that protect and make sure our team stays as healthy as possible, but we’ve had – we’ve got a workforce of tens of thousands of people.  We’ve had a couple hundred people that have been impacted by the coronavirus.  Unfortunately, we’ve had three of our team members overseas pass away as well.  So we are not unaffected either, but we are still able to do our job.  And the American people should know that we are still out in our embassies, still working, doing our work, making sure that we get people the assistance they need if they’re traveling abroad.

So I’m very proud of my team.  We’ve performed our mission.  We stayed focused in spite of the fact that we, too, are operating in many places that – 180-plus countries around the world, each of whom is impacted in its own way by this virus.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  And Mr. Secretary, if I could work in one more quick question here, President Trump’s been critical of the World Health Organization, even threatening to cut off funding.  What is the state of the U.S. relationship with the WHO?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So we got to get this right.  The World Health Organization too has shown that it didn’t get it right at the beginning, and we’ve got to make sure that the money that we’re spending – U.S. taxpayer dollars, the money that comes from people here in the United States – is being used for good purposes and for its intended mission.

The World Health Organization in its history has done some good work.  Unfortunately here, it didn’t hit the top of its game, and we need to make sure that we push through efforts to fundamentally change that or make a different decision that says we’re going to do our part to make sure that these important world health obligations, things that frankly keep Americans safe too, actually function.  We should make sure that the – anyplace we send American taxpayer dollars is fit for purpose.

QUESTION:  May I ask you very quickly in closing, because I know our time has gone here, is the United States going to punish China for lying and covering up about the coronavirus right from the beginning?  We’ve got a class action lawsuit coming out of Florida to that effect.  What about it?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  I’m very confident – as President Trump has said, I’m very confident that when the time is right, those who didn’t act appropriately or misled or didn’t put information out properly, or frankly, those who engaged in disinformation campaigns, I’m confident they’ll be held accountable when the time is right.

QUESTION:  It’s an honor to have you back with us.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you very much, sir.

QUESTION:  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here on Good Morning Orlando.  Have a good day, sir, and stay healthy.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Tony Katz of The Morning News. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  The conversation of coronavirus has led to conversations about our relationship with China.  Tony Katz, great to be with you.  The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joins us right now.  Sir, I appreciate you taking the time.  I know you’ve been asked a lot of these questions, specifically about the idea of should China pay for the damage that has been done.  I do want to get to that, but I would like to ask a question that’s maybe more direct, more focused.  Is there a belief from the United States Government that China was purposeful in the leak of this virus, or is there a belief that China knew there was a leak and did not tell anybody?  Are either one of those things true?  Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Hey, good morning.  How are you?

QUESTION:  I’m very good, sir.  How are you?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  I just could hear you just there.  I’m great, thank you.

QUESTION:  So the question was to – about China and a conversation about whether China should pay for the damage done, a question you’ve been asked before.  But I wanted to get a little more specific.  Does the State Department believe that China absolutely purposefully engaged a virus, or is there a belief that there was a leak from a virology lab in Wuhan, and China did not let the world know about it until it was too late?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Look, there’s still lots of work to be done to find out precisely what happened here, precisely how this came to be.  We know this much:  We know this is a global pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China.  We know that there were wet markets there.  So we’re beginning to piece the facts together.  We also know that China was too late, too slow, in providing important information about human-to-human spread of the virus.  One of the most important facts is how quickly this has spread, how easily and readily this has spread, and unfortunately, that information didn’t get to the relevant people that could have made decisions earlier, and that caused the entire world to be on its back foot at a time when it needed to be leaning forward and moving out aggressively.

QUESTION:  Well, I don’t disagree with you on those points, but there is a question of how the United States does respond.  And there are a couple of areas in which people are asking, I think, very strong and in many ways very, very smart questions.  When China goes about saying, “Well, the U.S. army could have done this,” when you see the levels of propaganda as you have seen on Twitter and other places, including conversations and complete omissions from the World Health Organization, how does the State Department respond to those things, to their Chinese counterparts, or to those within the World Health Organization?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, very clearly, we’ve responded vigorously directly to the Chinese Communist Party and its leadership as well as to the World Health Organization.  Those kinds of disinformation campaigns are not only wrong and unfounded, but they create risk, they cost lives.  When you don’t have data, when you don’t have transparency, when instead you kick journalists out of your country or, as the Chinese Government did yesterday, make decisions to say we’re not going to publish as much information about what really happened, we respond directly; we tell them this isn’t in the best interests, frankly, of their people either, certainly of America.

And President Trump – when we get to the point where it’s time, it’s time to evaluate exactly what happened here – and this isn’t years; this is in a much shorter time frame than that – there will be entities that are held responsible for what took place.  The President said that yesterday.  He said that we should make sure that we do things right today, which is to make sure we’re moving heaven and earth to protect the American people, keep them safe here inside the United States.  The State Department’s made sure we got people back from places all across the world so they could be safe as well, and then there’ll become a time to review precisely what happened, to investigate, get all the facts, and hold accountable those who were responsible for this enormous not only loss in human life but the economic damage that’s been done here in the United States as well.

QUESTION:  Talking to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  It is Congressman Jim Banks of the Indiana 3rd District who has called upon you, called upon the Attorney General Bill Barr, to bring international – an international criminal case against China over the cover-up.  You talk about there’s going to be a time to look into these things.  I’m a believer that we are the society that can indeed walk and chew gum at the same time, and maybe we need to be doing both at the same time.  But on a personal level, as the man who leads the State Department, do you trust China?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Look, I’ve seen the data over these past weeks, where the Chinese Government has simply not lived up to their obligations – their obligations to the international organizations, including the World Health Organization, and to the things that nations do, the way we’re supposed to treat our fellow human beings.  And so frankly, it certainly applies to the Chinese Communist Party, it applies to other countries as well.  It’s not about trust.  It’s about actions.  It’s not about what they say or what they tell us, but to observe what they do.

Look, we’re trying to find places – as the President said last week, we’re trying to find places where we can cooperate with China as we move through this time.  Our fundamental obligation in the days and weeks ahead is to do everything we can to fight back against this virus here in the United States and get our economy going back again.

QUESTION:  So Senator Dianne Feinstein of California sent a letter to the President saying that he’s wrong; we should be sending $5 billion to Iran to help them in this fight on coronavirus.  Is that the job of the United States?  Certainly, we’re always the people who want to help.  Certainly, we’ve helped people who do indeed hate us.  But is there a place for $5 billion to be going to the Iranian regime with no knowledge of whether or not it’s actually going to help people engaged with dealing with coronavirus?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  No, Senator Feinstein’s got that wrong, and the President has talked about a this too.  We offered humanitarian assistance, real humanitarian assistance to the Iranian people, but we’re not about to send cash to the ayatollahs.  In the first instance, it won’t get where we’d like it to go.  If our mission set is to save lives inside of Iran, to send a bunch of money to the Iranian regime won’t get that money to those people.  It’ll be funneled, siphoned off; it’ll be used for corrupt purposes.  And so that is the wrong approach to assistance inside of Iran.

Unfortunately, too, the Iranian regime has rejected our efforts; moreover, importantly, rejected their own ability.  They have money.  The ayatollah has got billions of dollars socked away.  It is not the case that Iran doesn’t have the capacity, the financial resources, to take care of this problem itself.  The United States and the world – this was an IMF loan, I think, that she was referring to – ought not to be creating free cash for the Iranian regime which will be used to fund its proxy wars all across the world, including those in Iraq where American citizens’ lives, American soldiers’ lives, are at risk.

QUESTION:  When we talk about this larger sense of what coronavirus has done, there is the trade conversation, then there’s, of course, the relationship with other nations.  We often hear from the American press corps about how things are strained with other nations, and they don’t look upon America with respect – something I don’t personally believe, but you keep hearing them try and push that narrative.  What have your conversations been like with other world leaders, your counterparts, in dealing with coronavirus and specifically trade in this world of coronavirus?  And what does the future look like in your eyes?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So I think you’re exactly right.  You hear these stories about the absence of American leadership.  In many cases, that’s disinformation itself.  It is the Russians, the Iranians, the Chinese all trying to make a public case that says America is no longer the world’s most important economic power.  That’s fundamentally false.  And when I talk to my colleagues from democratic countries from around the world, we all know.  I think this coronavirus has provided some clarity to them as well.  We’d been talking about China as a strategic competitor here in the United States since President Trump took office.  He’d been talking about the fact that these were unfair trade relationships, trying to get them to be more reciprocal.

And I think now many in the world, who perhaps didn’t take that as seriously as President Trump and this administration have, understand the risks associated with that today.  And I hope as we move forward through this, that these free countries, these democratic nations who value freedom and liberty and the things that Americans really care about, will join together.

QUESTION:  How is your health?  How is the health of your family?  How is the health of those in the State Department?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you so much for asking.  So I am fine.  I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been.  I could probably do better on that, but my wife and my son are both feeling fine too.  So thank you for asking.

We’ve had – unfortunately, we’ve had three State Department officials that have passed away from the coronavirus.  We’ve had a couple of hundred cases.  But we’re working hard to keep all of our team safe.  They have been traveling the world to repatriate now 61,000 Americans who got stuck, were trapped, stranded all across the world.  They have done remarkable work to bring them back.  I am very proud of what the team has done to get Americans home and get them safe and back to their families.

QUESTION:  I know you are up against it.  I appreciate taking the time.  We have more of these conversations in our future, sir.  Secretary Mike Pompeo, thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you.  Have a great day, sir.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Van Harden of The Van Harden Show, WHO Des Moines. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  It’s 8:38 here at WHO, Van Harden in the morning.  And this is a real honor:  On the phone line is the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.  Good morning, sir.  How are you?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning.  It’s great to be with you today.  Hope you’re doing well.

QUESTION:  Yeah, thank you.  We haven’t talked to you for a while.  And I was just thinking how focus has probably changed quite a bit, given the current state of affairs, huh?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yes, sir.  We’ve had to shift our focus and work on a couple of things related to this virus to help Americans be safe and secure and to do our part to help make sure we get the economy back open as well.

QUESTION:  So there are probably a lot of people overseas.  Are there people that are wanting to come home or have a lot of them already done that?  Or how do you see that?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So it’s been a big task.  We have now rescued over 61,000 American citizens who were trapped all across the world.  You know some of them, I’m sure, who were either on vacation or a mission trip or on their – overseas for work, whatever it may be, and all of a sudden the world stopped moving.  Planes stopped flying; trains stopped running, buses.  They raised their hand; they came to the State Department and said, “Can you give us an assist?”  And we moved into action and have now brought over 61,000 Americans home from 109 countries.  There are some great stories about people being rescued from near Mount Everest to the Amazon rainforest.  We’ve been very proud to be part of getting Americans back to their families.  It was a big undertaking, and we’ve accomplished an awful lot.  We still have a few more to go, but we’ll get there.

QUESTION:  So if somebody’s trapped – and you’ve outlined some of the ways they might have been trapped – what could you do as Secretary of State to help them with that?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So we’d ask if you’re – or if you or a loved one or someone you know has got a problem and they can’t make their way back to the United States because of the travel restrictions that are in place, they reach out to the embassy there in the country or to the State Department here.  They can call.  There’s a website location.  You can get on what we call our STEP program.

And what we’ll do is we’ll talk to you.  We’ll find out precisely where you are.  You may not be anywhere near an airport.  We’ll figure out how to get you someplace, if you need some assistance.  We’ve taken medications to people when push came to shove.  And we’ll do our best to coordinate a way for you to get back, whether that’s travel back on a charter flight or a military flight that may be in the area or some other way to get you back.  We’ll work to coordinate that so you can get home.

QUESTION:  I’m sure you must have a lot of employees.  How are you and your staff doing with all this?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  We do.  We have tens of thousands of employees in 180-plus sites all across the world.  We’ve done our best to continue to perform our mission, while trying to keep everyone safe.  Unfortunately, we’ve had a couple hundred people come down with the virus.  We’ve now had three fatalities, three people who have passed as a result of this as well.  It’s a reminder for our team not only how important our mission is but how important it is to do everything we can to keep every member of the State Department safe.

QUESTION:  Did you have to put a lot of stuff on the back burner?  I mean, you’ve got a busy job in the first place, but when something like this comes up, does it disrupt what you’re doing normally?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  No mission can go away.  We still have to deliver against every task.  It is certainly the case that some of the leadership has had to focus on that project, but in the finest traditions of American leadership, our team, at the direction of President Trump, has still been able to accomplish not only this task or this set of tasks but all the other things that we do all across the world as well.  Look, we’re a little slower on getting passports back to people today, but I’m very confident in the days and weeks ahead we’ll recover that as well.

QUESTION:  One of the reasons I like to have you on here is you’re a good communicator and it just seems like you’re a great guy.  How do you like that job?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  It’s an enormous privilege to serve President Trump, to serve the American people as our nation’s most senior diplomat.  To travel the world representing the United States of America is an incomprehensible honor for me.  It’s a lot of work, but a lot of joy too.  I work with a great team of professionals here at the State Department and all across the United States Government who, under President Trump’s leadership, are truly working to keep the American people safe.  I love what I’m doing, I enjoy what I’m doing, and I’m going to keep doing it as long as President Trump wants me.

QUESTION:  One last question.  If President Trump wins reelection and he asks you to continue as Secretary of State, would you like to do that?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.  I have enjoyed every minute serving him, both first as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and now in this role.  Look, the President will get to make his decisions as he changes out to the next administration.  He and I will have that conversation when the time is right.

QUESTION:  Well, Secretary Pompeo, thank you for your time.  It’s – and your service to the country.  It’s appreciated.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, sir.  I appreciate you having me on today.  You all have a wonderful day.

QUESTION:  You bet.  Okay, you too.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Chris Salcedo of The Chris Salcedo Show, KSEV Houston & Newsmax TV. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  Hi, welcome back.  Glad you made it here, everybody, the Chris Salcedo Show.  Our telephone number of 281-558-5738, 281-558-KSEV.  I want to welcome former congressman, used to run the CIA, now Mike Pompeo is the 70th United States Secretary of State.  Sir, welcome to the Chris Salcedo Show.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Chris, thanks for having me on this morning.  It’s good to talk to you.

QUESTION:  Sir, you have undertaken in the State Department something pretty historic, a repatriation of Americans that were abroad when COVID-19 hit us.  Tell us how many people you brought home and how many folks are still out there that need to be brought home.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So, Chris, I’m sure many of your listeners knew someone who was traveling when this virus hit the world, might have been on a mission trip or on business or just on a family vacation.  We’ve all seen the cruise ship issues.  We had people stranded in 109-plus countries.  We now have returned over 61,000 Americans to their families.  We got them back home, got them back to their church, got them back to where they wanted to be when they got stuck.  When trains and buses and planes all stopped flying, the State Department showed up and brought these people home.  I am proud of what the State Department has done under President Trump’s leadership.  We still have several thousand people who have said, yes, I’m stuck, I want to get back.  We’re going to do everything we can to get them back just as quickly as we can.

There are still countries that are open.  They may close too.  And I’d just have all your listeners make sure that if they’re thinking about traveling in the next handful of days that they pay attention to what’s going on in the country they’re thinking about heading to, and they check in with the State Department before they depart.

QUESTION:  That’s a good point.  Let me switch to the genesis of the pandemic we’re going through right now, which, of course, is China.  Have you spoken to your Chinese counterpart?  Number one, do they acknowledge that they were less than truthful?  What I’ve been saying, they’ve lied to the United States and that they’ve lied to the world, releasing this pandemic.  And what about their activities in the South China Sea?  As we’re battling COVID-19, is there evidence out there that you have seen the Chinese are trying to exploit and further solidify their dominion in the South China Sea by militarizing it even further?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Chris, those are all good questions.  So I have spoken to my Chinese counterpart.  I made clear President Trump’s expectations that the Chinese Government would be transparent, honest, timely in passing this information.  This isn’t political; this is about saving American lives – frankly, saving lives of people all around the world.

We know where this virus originated.  It originated in Wuhan, China.  These are just the facts.  And we need every government to do two things.  One, they’ve got to be honest about what’s going on.  They’ve got to talk about where the disease is in their country, how many fatalities they’ve had, what kind of cases they have, what kind of testing they’re engaged in.  And then for the Chinese Government, as the President said when they were talking about the fact that this might have come from an American soldier or an American weapons lab, that’s really risky.  That creates risk when you put disinformation out there in that way.

This data is important for our best medical professionals to make decisions about how we’re going to get the American economy cranked back up again.  We have to have every country, including China, engaged in a transparent, open way.

QUESTION:  Well, yeah, and I think there is fair evidence out that they have not been.  So Senator Tom Cotton is out there, as he sees his constituents suffering, some losing their lives, and a lot of lawmakers are seeing this as well.  He’s put out an idea of opening the courts to allow – much in the same way that 9/11 victims were able to do this – to be able to sue the Communist Party of China, the communist government out there, for damages.  Is that something the State Department would support?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So I’ve seen various proposals like that.  Here’s the way we’re thinking about this today:  Today we’re focused on doing everything we can to deliver good outcomes around the world.  It’s important to get good health outcomes in other places too.  Chris, we’re not out of the woods until this virus goes away.  If somebody’s got it in Africa or Asia or someplace else, it can come back to our country too.  That’s what we’re focused on today.

There will be a time, and that time is not too far off – there will be a time when the world will get to see which countries performed well, which countries created risk and imposed costs, and in fact, your point is well taken – cost American lives.  And I’m very confident that both President Trump and members of Congress like Senator Cotton, when that time is right, those who were responsible for both the loss of lives, the tragedy that’s taken place here in the United States, and the economic damage that has been done all around the world, I’m very confident that this administration will lead the way in holding both those countries and the individuals responsible for it accountable.

QUESTION:  No, you know what?  I share the confidence this administration will.  Let me just ask you point blank about your confidence in the level of cooperation you’re getting from your counterpart in China.  Have they been honest with us?  Can you definitively tell the American people that communist China has been truthful about even their current levels of COVID-19 infection?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Just like many places, we’ve watched this data and sometimes it just doesn’t fit with what we know to be the case.  What we’ve asked is we’ve asked every country, including China, we’ve asked them to make sure that we can get information.  You’ll recall, Chris, at the very beginning of this, the very onset, the United States tried to get our best doctor scientists inside of their country, and we weren’t successful at doing that.  We wanted to do it alongside the World Health Organization and just simply weren’t able to do it.  We’ve watched now, too, China expel journalists who were reporting on this set of issues, and we’ve also seen some of the folks inside of China, Chinese citizens who were talking about this, not be free to share that data.

What has to happen to get past this time, we need every government – including the Chinese Government – to be transparent and open.  If we get those things, if we can get transparency, if we can get these data sets right, we’ve got a real shot at pushing back against this thing and getting the global economy back on track.  I regret that some countries didn’t get it right at the front end.

QUESTION:  Yeah, me too.  Switching gears a little bit, we’re now hearing that Great Britain is reconsidering their adopting and using the 5G technology from Huawei, considering the dishonesty that you and I have been talking about from communist China.  (A) Is the State Department encouraging them to re-evaluate, and do you think it’s a good idea for them to abandon Chinese 5G?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  I’ve been talking about this for two years now, Chris.  The Huawei system, this 5G system that Huawei puts forward, is a system that is fraught with peril, fraught with national security risks for any country that puts it in.  It allows too much access for the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party.

So yes, the answer is we’ve traveled the world, the State Department has traveled the world not only to the United Kingdom but to many, many countries and made clear to them the real risk and cost to their own people.  If you want your own people to have data that’s private, that is secure, putting Huawei systems into your country’s infrastructure is not the right approach, and we’ve worked to help them develop alternatives to that as well.

I hope the United Kingdom will move back in the direction that the United States has and simply says the fact that the Huawei system is inexpensive on the front end – that is, it’s got a cheap price – that the cost is on the back side, and we ought to avoid it just as we’ve done here in the United States.

QUESTION:  From your lips to God’s ears.  The Iranians are hard-hit by the coronavirus, the China coronavirus, as well, and you have stated that you might be willing to look at relieving some sanctions in Iran.  How do we help the innocent Iranians who are being plagued by the China coronavirus yet make sure the murderous, terrorist regime of Iran still pays consequences for their actions?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Chris, we’ve been pretty clear.  We’ve offered humanitarian assistance from the very front end.  We offered to provide food assistance, all the things that the Iranian people would need.  This is a tragedy that has struck the Iranian people.  Part of the loss of life that will occur there is a direct result of the regime not having invested in their health care system, but rather having invested in Hizballah and terror campaigns around the world.  This is not the time to throw a bunch of cash at the Iranian regime.  It won’t work.  That cash will go to be siphoned off for corruption; it’ll end up in the hands of arms merchants; it’ll end up in the hands of the Shia militias and Hizballah.

We have supported other countries too as they have tried to move humanitarian assistance in.  We’ve been somewhat successful at getting that product to move and getting in to the Iranian people.  We need to do everything we can to help the Iranian people move through this virus problem, but we shouldn’t do a thing to provide resources or funding to a regime that presents real risks to American soldiers, our colleagues and friends who are serving in the military today in Iraq and Syria, all of those places where the Iranian leadership is acting in ways that it’s trying to put them at risk and cause loss of life for American soldiers.  We should never, never do anything that would fuel the Iranian regime’s capacity to inflict terror around the world and risk American lives.

QUESTION:  Last question I have for you, Mr. Secretary.  Speaking of the Iranians, you’ve got their allies, the Venezuelans.  Nicolas Maduro still sits there as so-called president even though we don’t recognize it.  He is now making arrests of Guaido’s top aides – the president we recognize here in the United States – and he’s even threatening to go after Guaido himself.  How much patience does the President of the United States and you have with Nicolas Maduro, this dictator who has done his best to grind the people in Venezuela into the dirt?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, I don’t want to get out in front of any decision that the President may make, but what this administration has done to make clear that we stand with the Venezuelan people is unprecedented, whether it’s the work that we’ve done to recognize Juan Guaido and the president that was elected by those Venezuelan people, whether it’s the humanitarian assistance we’ve helped to provide as now over a third of the Venezuelan people have had to flee their own country, moved into Peru or to Colombia or elsewhere in South America.

This is a truly humanitarian disaster, wholly unrelated to the current virus, and we’re going to do everything we can to stand up an opportunity for the Venezuelan people to get their democracy back.  It is a man-made crisis of epic proportions that Nicolas Maduro has foisted upon his people, and I hope the people of Venezuela, with all of the good nature that they possess, will get a chance to take their country back.  The United States stands ready to do everything we can to make sure that democracy is restored in Venezuela.

QUESTION:  Amen to that, a case study in the perils of socialism right down there in our own backyard.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Amen.

QUESTION:  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, sir, it has been a pleasure talking with you.  Come back, we’ll talk soon.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, Chris.  So long.  Have a great day.

QUESTION:  You betcha.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo with John Fredericks of The John Fredericks Show, WNTW Richmond. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

QUESTION:  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former congressman, former director of the CIA, and also – again, to reintroduce him, the first cabinet official that was hired by President Trump, and he’s with us now.  Mr. Secretary, welcome.  Great to have you, sir.

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning.  It’s great to be on with you.  Thank you for having me on the show today.

QUESTION:  Secretary Pompeo’s – it’s always an honor to have you on.  I want to start with a question today that I got from an article that was just published, an op-ed in WaPo by Josh Rogin.  He has a bombshell story this morning and he’s quoting from State Department cables about the lack of supervision in the P4 lab in Wuhan, specifically about the bat coronavirus research that was ongoing.  What can you share with us, Mr. Secretary, concerning that story?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So I can’t comment on the story directly.  I can say this:  The United States works all across the world with various labs.  We’re trying to do right by the American people to try and help keep them safe, and we saw at the initiation of this epidemic – we saw that this virus originated in Wuhan, China, and then we watched as the American medical professionals tried to get in to evaluate, to see what was going on, to figure out what the spread looked like, all the things we were talking about back in February and March of this year.  How do we make sure we have the right data sets so the American people can understand from where this began so that we can solve the problem?  And unfortunately we weren’t able to do that as quickly as we needed to.  The World Health Organization wasn’t able to get in either.  It delayed the capacity for the world to respond.

Look, accountability for those decisions, we’ll get to.  Today, the President’s focus, as you can see from his briefings each day, are on protecting the American people.  We will have a full chance to look back at what precisely transpired there and to conduct investigations that help us understand how it’s the case that this epidemic broke out.

QUESTION:  Now Mr. Secretary, what is our position now in the fact that the CCP, the Communist Party of China, we now know had this information; they didn’t share it.  They either didn’t give it to the WHO or they misled the WHO.  We’re not sure which it is, but a lot of people saying now that had they simply shared with us what was going on – and also the President tried to send CDC people in there.  They were rejected.  What is the story with this?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, they – I think you’ve captured pretty well – go back to first principles.  Every country – the Chinese Communist Party has to get this right.  We have to have transparency.  This data – these data sets matter.  It’s how – when you see Dr. Fauci or Dr. Birx, you see them trying to figure out how best for America to respond, you have to have good information.  And to your point, at the front end, where this broke out, we didn’t get this information in a sufficiently timely manner.  We’ll now focus on the things we need to keep America safe, but there’ll come a day when we go back and look and see how we can prevent something like this from ever happening again, to make sure that the institutions that were designed to raise the global alert, the World Health Organization – how it failed to execute on that mission.

QUESTION:  What is our position now on the World Health Organization?  I mean, a lot of people depend on them for accurate information.  It seems like they gave us anything but that.  Meantime, we’re still funding them.  The President’s saying yesterday in the press conference that he’s going to make a decision on funding them at the end of the week.  Do you have a position on that?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Yeah, that’s right.  Now look, I don’t want to get out in front of the President.  We’re certainly evaluating the resources that we provide to the World Health Organization to make sure, in the first instance, that they are delivering for the American people, that we’re getting good value for the money that we’re spending.  We need to go take a look at how the WHO performed during this time.  There are some things they’ve gotten right throughout time.  They’ve done great work against AIDS all across the world.  We just need to simply make sure that we have it right.  We don’t want to spend a single dollar from the American taxpayer for an organization that’s not keeping Americans safe.

QUESTION:  You’re on The John Fredericks Radio Network.  We are with Secretary of State of the United States Mike Pompeo.  Secretary Pompeo, a lot of people concerned about our supply chain in China, 85 percent of our medical supplies being supplied in China, and I know the President’s concerned about that.  You were one of the first people ever to raise flags on it.  What do we do going forward so that we’re not in this position again?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  So we’ll have to figure out precisely our way forward, but your core point I think is irrefutable.  President Trump got this right, even when he was campaigning, and certainly since he came into office; that is, these trade relationships between our two countries matter, and when they are not fair, when they are not reciprocal, you become dependent on other nations.  And we’ve seen that play out here in this moment with respect to the virus.

So precisely how we’ll get to the right place, I think we all have to think our way through, but it’s certainly true – and I think President Trump recognizes this – it cannot be the case that we continue to allow the unfair trade relationship with China to continue to impact the American peoples’ lives.  We’ve seen the effect of that and we can’t allow it to continue.  It’s one of the things I’m most proud of that this administration has done, is to recognize the risk associated with that and to begin to take actions that put America in a better place to make ourselves safer, more secure, and more prosperous here at home.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, I want to switch over.  I’ve got about a minute and a half and you have to take off.  I want to get to the oil pricing situation, the Saudis dumping oil down to $19 a barrel in their war with Putin over it.  This is putting our gas and oil producers here in the U.S. at great economic risk.  I know you’ve been involved in some of the negotiations.  How do you see this playing out, sir?

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well, we had some good news across the weekend where OPEC-plus – so dozens – several dozen countries all got together, they reached an agreement to decrease supply while we’re in this real demand trough for energy.  You’re right; as President talked about a couple of times across the weekend, this is really impactful for American jobs all across America, not just – you think about Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas, the place that I’m from – but all across America, people who are involved in the energy industry.

We need to do everything we can to make sure we protect those jobs, and the President worked all throughout Easter weekend to facilitate that effort to make sure that that deal came together.  It took something on the order of 15 to 20 million barrels off the oil market, and I’m very hopeful that that will do a lot to drive these jobs back to America and help our energy industry continue to do what it’s done: provide energy for America and for the world, and reduce America’s security.  It means we have less dependency on the Middle East, a place that you and I both know we’ve spent a lot of time and treasure over the past decades.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, lot of us want to thank you for making the decision not to run for U.S. Senate in Kansas and staying as Secretary of State.  Those of us in Trump world, we know that how good your relationship is with President Trump, and you were the very first cabinet official that they hired, and so thanks for – thank —

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Well that’s very kind.  I am proud to continue to be America’s Secretary of State, an honor the President lets me keep doing this.  It’s a true privilege to serve America in this way.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thanks for your time.  Thank you for (inaudible).

SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you very much, sir.  You have a wonderful day.

U.S. Department of State. 04/14/2020. Briefing With Dr. William Walters, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Operations, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Ian Brownlee, Bureau of Consular Affairs On COVID-19:  Updates on Health Impact and Assistance for American Citizens Abroad. Via Teleconference

MS ORTAGUS:  Thank you so much.  Good afternoon, everybody.  Welcome to our daily briefing call.  So since January 29th, the U.S. Department of State has coordinated the repatriation of almost 62,000 Americans from 107 countries and over 560 flights.  These figures alone are staggering, but they symbolize the countless hours of preparation, follow-through, and personal attention from State Department personnel working around the clock in very difficult conditions around the world.

To help us tell us this story, we have joining us for today’s on-the-record call Ian Brownlee, who everyone knows now, our Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and also everyone’s favorite doctor at the State Department, Dr. William Walters, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Operations from the Bureau of Medical Services.

Doc Walters will begin with some opening remarks and then turn it over to PDAS Brownlee and then, of course, we’ll take a few questions.  Just a friendly reminder to everyone that this briefing is embargoed until the end of the call.  And I think as you all know, if you want to go ahead and get in the queue, please press one and then zero to ask a question.

Doc Walters.

DR WALTERS:  Thank you, Morgan.  Good afternoon, everyone.  The State Department continues to strongly enforce and practice the appropriate social distancing and other non-pharmaceutical interventions, and that continues to be reflected in our own disease curves.  Currently there are – we’re tracking 297 overseas cases, including 182 active with 115 recovered, holding at – thankfully holding at three overseas deaths, all within locally employed staff.

Domestic cases are 71 current cases, 67 with four recovered.  Important to note that we started to see domestic cases in the second into the third week of March, and so this is the point at which we would expect to see those cases start to recover.  So I would anticipate over the next week, we’ll start to see the recovery cases start to climb.

I am saddened to say that we’ve had our first – our second domestic death, our first within the U.S. direct-hire population, a civil servant serving here in Washington, D.C.  And our condolences do go out to the family and to all families that have been impacted by coronavirus.

With that, I’ll turn it over to PDAS Brownlee.

MR BROWNLEE:  Thank you, Dr. Walters.  Good afternoon, everyone.  It’s nice to be back with you again this week.  If you observe Passover or Easter, I hope you had a nice albeit different celebration with your families this year.

As you know, our repatriation efforts have continued on a global scale for two and a half months. In some areas, such as Central America, we have begun to wind down the State Department-sponsored charters and transition to commercially managed flights.  In the near future, we will look to do so in other regions.

As Secretary Pompeo has stated, our timeline is based on demand and resources.  We’re doing all we can to ensure that transition is a smooth one and that, with the help of our private sector partners and foreign governments, there are sustainable, long-term transportation options for Americans abroad.

Of course, it’s worth remembering just how much we’ve already accomplished in service to our fellow citizens.  As Morgan said, we’ve repatriated almost 62,000 U.S. citizens on over 560 flights from six continents.  We have brought home over 30,000 people from Central and South American alone, over 10,000 from Africa, and more than 5,000 so far from South and Central Asia.

We still estimate there are around 15,000 U.S. citizens who have some interest in coming home, but as I’ve said before, that number fluctuates.  As I’ve also said many times before, if you’re on the fence about returning, get off that fence now.  State Department-sponsored options will not continue forever.

During this challenging time for countries around the world, coordination of likeminded partners is crucial in the fight against COVID-19.  We appreciate the messages of gratitude from our allies and partners like the Republic of Korea, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, and many transatlantic partners, where we have helped repatriate their citizens.  And we likewise thank our partners around the world for help they have provided to get – in getting Americans home.  Free and open societies standing together in the battle against COVID-19 – this is what we do.

I would also like to take a moment to recognize our dedicated Foreign Service officers and locally employed staff abroad; our countless Civil Service and other domestic staff coordinate – coordinating efforts domestically; our private partners at the airlines running the charter and commercial flights; our foreign diplomatic counterparts; and the U.S. citizens who have shown tremendous resilience and flexibility under difficult conditions.  It is truly an extraordinary team effort.

A few recent examples in the current repatriation efforts:

This past weekend, three flights chartered by the government returned to the United States from Pakistan after staff at the embassy there made more than a thousand calls to U.S. citizens.  Because of the overwhelming demand, the mission prioritized seats for those most at risk for COVID-19 complications based on the CDC criteria and Department of State guidance.

To date, our embassy in Peru has repatriated approximately 7,150 U.S. citizens.  While there are no further U.S. Government charter flights from Peru planned at this time, our embassy has coordinated with Eastern Airlines to offer a private charter flight from Lima to Miami.  This flight is tentatively scheduled for this Thursday, April 16th, provided sufficient tickets are booked.  Embassy Lima is supporting Eastern Airlines with logistical advice and will continue to provide U.S. citizens transit letters to show to security officials at checkpoints.  If you are in Peru and have an urgent need to return to the United States, please seriously consider using this option.

Finally, I’d like to turn your attention to Brazil.  We have the same message for U.S. citizens and permanent residents in Brazil as we have for their counterparts around the world:  Make plans to return home now or prepare to stay where you are.  Airlines continue to fly between Brazil and the United States, but the number of flights has declined significantly over the last week.  Many tens of thousands of U.S. citizens live in communities all across Brazil, an enormous country.  Without commercial flights, it would be exceedingly difficult for the U.S. Government to organize repatriation efforts.  We are working closely with U.S. air carriers on maintaining some commercial flights.  If you want to return home, you should do so now.

From Nigeria to India, to Senegal to Indonesia, our U.S. and local staff are working night and day to get as many U.S. citizens as we can back home.  We ask that all U.S. citizens still abroad make sure they are registered in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, STEP, and make themselves known to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.  Please make your decision to come home now or hunker down where you are for the duration of your – this crisis.

With that, I will stop for your questions.  Thank you.

MS ORTAGUS:  Great.  Thank you, guys.  And just a reminder to everybody to press 1, 0 if you’d like to ask a question.

Okay.  First up in the queue is Said Arikat.  Said, are you there?

QUESTION:  Yes, I’m here.  Can you hear me?

MS ORTAGUS:  Go ahead.  Yes.

QUESTION:  Hello?  Yeah.  Yeah, sorry, I think I was on mute.  Yes, very quickly, yesterday the Secretary – or in fact as well as earlier today – Secretary Pompeo told BILD-TV, German TV, that there will be a response to China, and like a punitive response to China in the near future, because China was not quick enough to share whatever information.  Could you elaborate on that or explain it to us?  Thank you.

MS ORTAGUS:  Said, Dr. Walters and Ian Brownlee, they – that’s not something that’s in their mandate.  I’ll ask Ruben to get back to you for any points that we have that we can send to you on that.  But the two of them – that wouldn’t be a question for them.

Okay.  So let’s now go over to John Hudson.

QUESTION:  Hi.  Thanks.  I was wondering if you guys could provide a sort of full picture of what countries have contributed to America’s medical response apparatus and what they contributed.  Obviously this has been, like, something the State Department has had a significant role in processing and coordinating.  I was just wondering if you could talk about what countries have contributed to America’s sort of medical readiness.

DR WALTERS:  This is Dr. Walters.  It’s probably a question we’d have to take back.  The – within State, I think the relevant bureaus there would be obviously the econ bureau, but also the Coronavirus Task Force itself would have visibility on those type of transactions, which are largely coordinated by DHS or HHS and simply facilitated by the department.

MS ORTAGUS:  Great.  Thanks, Doc.  Okay.  Next we have Tracy Wilkinson.

QUESTION:  Hi.  Thank you.  Maybe this one will work for Ian.  I wondered if I could get sort of the universal picture of the status of embassies and consulates, in terms of how they’re working.  And I ask because some of these repatriated Americans or stranded Americans complain that their embassy was closed and things like that, which I know is not quite the case.  So I wondered – I know a lot of consulates have been either shut down or dramatically reduced and that a lot of embassies are working with sort of skeleton personnel.  But could you give me a bigger picture?  What percentage of embassies are at full level and reduced level, et cetera, and consulates as well?

MR BROWNLEE:  What I can say is this, that there – around the world there are two U.S. consulates that are closed: Wuhan, China and Yekaterinburg, Russia.  Every other consulate is open.  They are open for emergency services to U.S. citizens; they’re open for, in many cases, for routine American citizen services.  So if a child is born abroad, the parents can go in and get a consular report of birth for that child.  So it is a mistaken impression to say that many consulates are closed and that embassies are working on skeleton staffing.  They are, to be sure, working to reduce staffing, as we’ve drawn down many of our visa operations.  But those people who were working on visa operations have pivoted to working on American citizen services.  So as I say, only two are closed – Wuhan and Yekaterinburg.  Over.

MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Great, thanks.  Christina Ruffini.  And – oh, sorry.  Right before Christina goes, Tracy, I think – and Ruben can correct me if I’m wrong – I think we have a list of any press guidance that we’ve put out for any authorized or ordered departures.  You guys should have access to all of that.  But if you don’t someone from Ruben’s team can make sure that you have everything that’s up to date.

Okay.  Christina Ruffini.

QUESTION:  Thanks, guys.  If there’s a centralized list of those that could be distributed to us, that would be great.  Because the only way we’ve been able to track it is on each different release, and it’s hard to figure out percentages from that.  So it would help to be more accurate if there was a centralized list that could go out.  That’d be awesome.

My question was for Dr. Walters.  I’m wondering if there’s anything else you can offer on the civil servant working in D.C. who unfortunately passed away.  I’m wondering if they worked at HST and how long they’d been with the department.

DR WALTERS:  Yeah, thanks for the question.  I’m afraid I don’t have that information.  And frankly, going any deeper into the specifics of the individual would almost certainly allow others to sort of identify who it was.  And out of respect for their privacy, I think I’d have to withhold.  But to be clear, I don’t have that information.

MS ORTAGUS:  Okay, thanks.  Shaun Tandon.

QUESTION:  Can I just follow up with Christina’s question?  I know there’s a limit to what you can say.  Do you know when the death occurred?  And can you say if there are any additional precautions being taken at HST or elsewhere in light of this?  Thanks.

DR WALTERS:  So I can say that the individual did pass over the weekend after a prolonged illness.  We have been following this case for some time.  The – and it has been more than two weeks that the person has been out of work, and so no additional precautions were required at the facility that they worked in.

MS ORTAGUS:  Okay.  Matt Lee.

QUESTION:  Hi there, two very brief ones.  Sorry to kind of harp on this again, but I mean, did that mean when you said “prolonged illness” that they had some underlying condition in addition to the virus?

Secondly, for Doc Walters, you said two consulates, Wuhan and Yekaterinburg.  Maybe my memory is really, really bad, but I could have sworn you said the second one was Vladivostok in a call not so long ago.

And then for PDAS Brownlee, do you have any insight – and I realize it’s not a charter flight – charter flights or anything like that, but what is going on with Aeroflot?  I mean, just looking at social media, it seems like they’re just throwing together flights at the last minute, not really telling anybody.  Do you have any idea what the – insight what’s going on there?  Thank you.

DR WALTERS:  Yeah, hey, (inaudible).

MR BROWNLEE:  And Matt, that was Ian, not Doc Walters who said Yekaterinburg, and you’re absolutely correct.  Indeed it is Vladivostok, not Yekaterinburg, so I was mistaken in that.  And so it’s Wuhan and Vladivostok that are closed as a result of drawdowns.

With regard to Aeroflot, I do not have any information about that, what is driving their decisions to allow or not allow particular flights.  The embassy in Moscow is continuing to work with U.S. citizens in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia to see if they are interested in returning to the United States and providing to them all the information available, but the individual commercial/regulatory decisions are not something that I have any insight into.  Over.

DR WALTERS:  And Matt, it’s Doc Walters.  First thing, thank you for getting me off the hook on Vladivostok, but with regard to this unfortunate individual, he had a prolonged hospital course related to coronavirus, so it’s not – I don’t have further information on what his other comorbidities were, but he was hospitalized for some time fighting the coronavirus and ultimately did succumb.

MS ORTAGUS:  Great, thanks.  Jennifer Hansler.

QUESTION:  Hey, thank you.  Have you heard from any of the diplomatic posts overseas that they are having issues obtaining proper PPE given kind of the global shortages, particularly those who are interacting with folks who are being repatriated?

And then Morgan, you might be able to answer this:  Are top officials at State who are still coming in wearing masks, for example, gloves?  What sort of protective measures are they taking?  Thank you.

DR WALTERS:  Yeah, it’s Doc Walters.  So with regard to PPE overseas, our – as part of our ongoing preparedness well in advance of this pandemic, the Bureau of Medical Services has small stockpiles of PPE and other countermeasures at each post.  We have supplemented that, again, well in advance of the crush on the supply chain that’s occurred.  And so our health care providers overseas and our consular officers are provided with PPE appropriate to their interaction, understanding that there are going to be times when you come into unexpected contact with American citizens and no one’s going to stop what they’re doing in helping an American citizen.

But we – as part of the safety net, both there’s the PPE side, but there’s also the small community in each of our posts that is overseen by a medical provider from the bureau, either a direct hire or locally employed, and that – that drives the statistics that I provide at the beginning of each one of these briefs, and what we’re seeing is a fairly flat curve and no ongoing employee-to-employee transmission patterns that we’ve been able to identify.

MS ORTAGUS:  And Ian, do you have anything on her second question?  Not Ian, I’m sorry —

MR BROWNLEE:  I’m sorry.  Say again?

MS ORTAGUS:  I’m sorry.  I meant that for Doc Walters.

DR WALTERS:  I’m sorry.  Could you repeat the second question?

MS ORTAGUS:  Jennifer?  Oh, they may have muted her line already.  I think she was asking what – I think it was related to who’s coming into the State Department in terms of —

DR WALTERS:  Oh, regarding the masks, right.

MS ORTAGUS:  Yeah.

DR WALTERS:  So both the President and the Centers for Disease Control have been fairly clear on face coverings rather than masks being encouraged but optional, and the Bureau of Medical Services and the department has taken the same approach.  It’s an individual decision.  We encourage it.  We explain the rationale for it, but it is not enforced at this time.

MS ORTAGUS:  Great, thanks.  Okay, Lara Jakes.

QUESTION:  I was just wondering, Ian, if you could elaborate on the situation in Brazil, how many American citizens there have indicated that they wanted to come home, and if it’s just a matter of the commercial flights looking at ending is the reason why you’re bringing this up to us now in contrast with other nations where American citizens are looking to come home.  Thank you.

MR BROWNLEE:  Sure.  Hi, Lara.  I think I’ve mentioned Brazil before because it’s such a – there’s such a large Amcit population, and until recently there was still quite a significant number of flights.  I think as recently as 10 days, two weeks ago, there were 16 flights a week between Brazil and the United States.  That dropped to nine and it’s down from there now.

The reason I keep mentioning it is – and what I said at the top – there’s this large population of U.S. citizens scattered across Brazil.  If the government clamps down on internal movements, it’s going to be nearly impossible for us to go in and get people out of all of these remote areas.  That’s why I keep banging on about making this decision, decide are you going to leave or are you going to stay.  We don’t know how many U.S. citizens might want to leave because we haven’t been inquiring.  Our message has been get out or get ready to stay.

So there are hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens in Brazil at any given moment.  They need to make that decision now.  Over.

MS ORTAGUS:  Thanks.  Abbie Williams.

QUESTION:  Hi, thanks so much for doing the call.  I wondered if you could say if there are any countries that have proved particularly challenging to repatriate Americans from, and more specifically, how many Americans are still on board the cruise ship Ruby Princess docked in Sydney, and is the U.S. at all involved in that investigation taking place about the passengers who disembarked and were later found to be COVID-positive?

MR BROWNLEE:  Well, I think – Ian here – I think the Secretary has cited a couple of times a group of people who were literally climbing Mount Everest and were at the Everest base camp seeking repatriation from there, so that qualifies as a particularly challenging undertaking.

I think on a much broader scale, though, countries where people keep coming forward.  We’ve been undergoing – we’ve been undertaking efforts for an extended period and people keep coming forward and raising their hand and saying, “Now I’m ready to go home.”  I can point to Morocco, which was near the beginning of this mass effort in mid-March, almost a month ago now.  When we took 1,200 people out in something like six flights, we thought we were down to everybody, all the tourists were out, and then I think it was a week ago we brought another planeload of people out because they had come out of the mountains, out of wherever to say they were seeking to be repatriated.

So those are the challenges – people off in truly remote areas, whether it’s up the Amazon, up on Everest, or people who are just coming forward later in this process than otherwise.  Over.

MS ORTAGUS:  Great, thanks.  And last question goes to Rosiland Jordan.

QUESTION:  Hi.  Thanks for the call.  This is a question for Ian.  Just wanting to go back, I guess, about 30,000 feet.  I know that people aren’t required to register with step.travel.gov when they’re overseas, but have you seen an uptick in the number of people registering with the website, and is that giving you a better sense of how many Americans are living or are traveling abroad and who might possibly need the State Department’s help down the road?

MR BROWNLEE:  Yeah, Rosiland, thanks.  That’s a really good question.  One of the key things we face in doing consular work overseas:  How many U.S. citizens are there in our consular district?  We estimate, for example, in Mexico there are somewhere between a million and a million and a half U.S. citizens.  That’s obviously a huge range.  How many are registered with the U.S. Government there?  Far, far fewer than that, so it really does come down to estimates.

In terms of specific numbers of people who registered with STEP at the moment, I’m sorry, I don’t have that number at my fingertips and we’ll have to get back to you.  But we have seen – I can say that anecdotally we’ve seen a significant uptick in the number of people registered with STEP, but we’ll have to get back to you with more specifics.  Over.

MS ORTAGUS:  Okay, great, guys.  Thank you so much.  Thanks, everybody, for dialing in.

ECONOMY

FED. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Bloqueio não pode ser mantido para sempre e retomada depende de gestão de riscos, diz Bullard, do Fed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A paralisação econômica devido à pandemia de coronavírus está custando aos Estados Unidos talvez 25 bilhões de dólares por dia em produção perdida, e não pode ser mantido indefinidamente, disse o presidente do Federal Reserve de St. Louis, James Bullard, ao afirmar que o país precisa de testes generalizados e estratégias de gerenciamento de riscos para que a economia possa reabrir.

A reabertura da economia não será feita por um “pronunciamento” de qualquer político, mas à medida que famílias e empresas encontram maneiras de retomar a vida cotidiana “sabendo que esta doença existe”, disse Bullard.

Testes generalizados ou outras formas de mitigar riscos, mesmo que sejam feitos em comércio por comércio ou escola por escola, seriam fundamentais, disse ele.

Por Howard Schneider

THE WHITE HOUSE. CEA. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Trump fará anúncios sobre reabertura da economia dos EUA nos próximos dias, diz Kudlow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - O presidente dos Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, fará uma série de anúncios “cruciais e vitais” sobre a reabertura da economia norte-americana nos próximos dias, disse seu principal assessor econômico nesta terça-feira.

“Nos próximos dias, ele fará alguns anúncios muito importantes sobre essas diretrizes (de distanciamento social)”, disse Larry Kudlow, diretor do Conselho Econômico Nacional, à Fox Business Network.

“Queremos as pessoas de volta ao trabalho”, acrescentou. “Queremos fazer isso o mais rápido possível. Tem que ser seguro. Tem que ser guiado pelos dados dos nossos especialistas em saúde.”

Reportagem de Tim Ahmann

EUA. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Estados dos EUA com planos de reabertura representam 38% da economia do país
Por Ann Saphir

SÃO FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Os dez Estados norte-americanos que coordenam planos separadamente da Casa Branca sobre reabrir os negócios que foram fechados para evitar a propagação do novo coronavírus são responsáveis por uma fatia grande da economia norte-americana.

Na segunda-feira, três Estados na Costa Oeste dos Estados Unidos, liderados pelo governador da Califórnia, Gavin Newsom, e sete na Costa Leste, liderados pelo governador de Nova York, Andrew Cuomo, afirmaram que desenvolverão planos regionais coordenados.

Com exceção de Massachusetts, todos são comandados por governadores democratas.

Coletivamente, os dez Estados geraram 38,3% da produção econômica total dos EUA no quarto trimestre de 2019, destacando quanto da economia dos EUA depende de seus Estados mais populosos.

Califórnia e Nova York, primeiro e terceiro maiores Estados, respectivamente, respondem por cerca de 23% da produção econômica total dos EUA, mostram dados do Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Os anúncios sobre os pactos para coordenar os planos vieram depois que o presidente Donald Trump, um republicano, declarou que qualquer decisão sobre reabrir a economia depende dele. A Casa Branca está preparando seus próprios planos, que deverão ser anunciados em breve.

Mas Trump também sugeriu que ele prefere esperar os governadores. “Prefiro que eles tomem a decisão”, afirmou em sua entrevista coletiva diária.

A Constituição dos EUA concede às autoridades estatais o poder de policiar os cidadãos e regular o bem-estar público.

FED. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Evans, do Fed, diz que reabertura precoce da economia dos EUA poderia prolongar recessão
Por Ann Saphir

(Reuters) - A economia norte-americana está passando por uma recessão muito acentuada, mas com expectativa de ser curta, disse Charles Evans, presidente do Federal Reserve de Chicago, nesta terça-feira, acrescentando que se as relações empregado-empregador puderem ser mantidas durante a quarentena, a economia terá melhor chance de se recuperar rapidamente.
Ainda assim, disse Evans em um evento online promovido pela Universidade Carnegie Mellon, se a economia for reaberta muito cedo e o vírus ressurgir, a desaceleração provavelmente será prolongada.

De qualquer forma, haverá muita “transformação” na economia à medida que o choque atinge todos os setores, aumentando a necessidade de tolerância e direção do governo na socialização dos custos, disse ele.

________________

ORGANISMS

GLOBAL ECONOMY

IMF. 04/14/2020. THE GREAT LOCKDOWN: WORST ECONOMIC DOWNTURN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION
By Gita Gopinath, the Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department.

The world has changed dramatically in the three months since our last update of the World Economic Outlook in January. A rare disaster, a coronavirus pandemic, has resulted in a tragically large number of human lives being lost. As countries implement necessary quarantines and social distancing practices to contain the pandemic, the world has been put in a Great Lockdown. The magnitude and speed of collapse in activity that has followed is unlike anything experienced in our lifetimes.

This is a crisis like no other, and there is substantial uncertainty about its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. A lot depends on the epidemiology of the virus, the effectiveness of containment measures, and the development of therapeutics and vaccines, all of which are hard to predict. In addition, many countries now face multiple crises—a health crisis, a financial crisis, and a collapse in commodity prices, which interact in complex ways. Policymakers are providing unprecedented support to households, firms, and financial markets, and, while this is crucial for a strong recovery, there is considerable uncertainty about what the economic landscape will look like when we emerge from this lockdown. 

Under the assumption that the pandemic and required containment peaks in the second quarter for most countries in the world, and recedes in the second half of this year, in the April World Economic Outlook we project global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent. This is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January 2020, a major revision over a very short period. This makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis.

Assuming the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and that policy actions taken around the world are effective in preventing widespread firm bankruptcies, extended job losses, and system-wide financial strains, we project global growth in 2021 to rebound to 5.8 percent.

This recovery in 2021 is only partial as the level of economic activity is projected to remain below the level we had projected for 2021, before the virus hit. The cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars, greater than the economies of Japan and Germany, combined.

This is a truly global crisis as no country is spared. Countries reliant on tourism, travel, hospitality, and entertainment for their growth are experiencing particularly large disruptions. Emerging market and developing economies face additional challenges with unprecedented reversals in capital flows as global risk appetite wanes, and currency pressures, while coping with weaker health systems, and more limited fiscal space to provide support. Moreover, several economies entered this crisis in a vulnerable state with sluggish growth and high debt levels.

For the first time since the Great Depression both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies are in recession. For this year, growth in advanced economies is projected at -6.1 percent. Emerging market and developing economies with normal growth levels well above advanced economies are also projected to have negative growth rates of -1.0 percent in 2020, and -2.2 percent if you exclude China. Income per capita is projected to shrink for over 170 countries. Both advanced and emerging market and developing economies are expected to partially recover in 2021.

Alternative adverse scenarios 

What I have described is a baseline scenario but, given the extreme uncertainty around the duration and intensity of the health crisis, we also explore alternative, more adverse scenarios. The pandemic may not recede in the second half of this year, leading to longer durations of containment, worsening financial conditions, and further breakdowns of global supply chains. In such cases, global GDP would fall even further: an additional 3 percent in 2020 if the pandemic is more protracted this year, while, if the pandemic continues into 2021, it may fall next year by an additional 8 percent compared to our baseline scenario.

Exceptional policy actions

Flattening the spread of Covid-19 using lockdowns allows health systems to cope with the disease, which then permits a resumption of economic activity. In this sense, there is no trade-off between saving lives and saving livelihoods. Countries should continue to spend generously on their health systems, perform widespread testing, and refrain from trade restrictions on medical supplies. A global effort must ensure that when therapies and vaccines are developed both rich and poor nations alike have immediate access.

While the economy is shut down, policymakers will need to ensure that people are able to meet their needs and that businesses can pick up once the acute phases of the pandemic pass. The large, timely, and targeted, fiscal, monetary, and financial policies already taken by many policymakers—including credit guarantees, liquidity facilities, loan forbearance, expanded unemployment insurance, enhanced benefits, and tax relief—have been lifelines to households and businesses. This support should continue throughout the containment phase to minimize persistent scars that could emerge from subdued investment and job losses in this severe downturn.

Policymakers must also plan for the recovery. As containment measures come off, policies should shift swiftly to supporting demand, incentivizing firm hiring, and repairing balance sheets in the private and public sector to aid the recovery. Fiscal stimulus that is coordinated across countries with fiscal space will magnify the benefit for all economies. Moratoria on debt repayments and debt restructuring may need to be continued during the recovery phase.

Multilateral cooperation is vital to the health of the global recovery. To support needed spending in developing countries, bilateral creditors and international financial institutions should provide concessional financing, grants, and debt relief. The activation and establishment of swap lines between major central banks has helped ease shortages in international liquidity, and may need to be expanded to more economies. Collaborative effort is needed to ensure that the world does not de-globalize, so the recovery is not damaged by further losses to productivity.

At the International Monetary Fund, we are actively deploying our 1 trillion-dollar lending capacity to support vulnerable countries, including through rapid-disbursing emergency financing and debt service relief to our poorest member countries, and we are calling on official bilateral creditors to do the same.

There are some hopeful signs that this health crisis will end. Countries are succeeding in containing the virus using social distancing practices, testing, and contact tracing, at least for now, and treatments and vaccines may develop sooner than expected.

In the meantime, we face tremendous uncertainty around what comes next. Commensurate with the scale and speed of the crisis, domestic and international policy responses need to be large, rapidly deployed, and speedily recalibrated as new data becomes available. The courageous actions of doctors and nurses need to be matched by policymakers all over the world so we can jointly overcome this crisis.

DOCUMENT: https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/the-great-lockdown-worst-economic-downturn-since-the-great-depression/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

IMF. 04/14/2020. World Economic Outlook, April 2020: Chapter 1

The Great Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting high and rising human costs worldwide, and the necessary protection measures are severely impacting economic activity. As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis. In a baseline scenario--which assumes that the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and containment efforts can be gradually unwound—the global economy is projected to grow by 5.8 percent in 2021 as economic activity normalizes, helped by policy support. The risks for even more severe outcomes, however, are substantial. Effective policies are essential to forestall the possibility of worse outcomes, and the necessary measures to reduce contagion and protect lives are an important investment in long-term human and economic health. Because the economic fallout is acute in specific sectors, policymakers will need to implement substantial targeted fiscal, monetary, and financial market measures to support affected households and businesses domestically. And internationally, strong multilateral cooperation is essential to overcome the effects of the pandemic, including to help financially constrained countries facing twin health and funding shocks, and for channeling aid to countries with weak health care systems.

FULL DOCUMENT: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

CORONAVIRUS

IMF. COVID-19 CRISIS POSES THREAT TO FINANCIAL STABILITY

• Tobias Adrian is the Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department.
• Fabio M. Natalucci is a Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented human and health crisis. The measures necessary to contain the virus have triggered an economic downturn. At this point, there is great uncertainty about its severity and length. The latest Global Financial Stability Report shows that the financial system has already felt a dramatic impact, and a further intensification of the crisis could affect global financial stability.

Since the pandemic’s outbreak, prices of risk assets have fallen sharply: At the worst point of the recent selloff, risk assets suffered half or more of the declines they experienced in 2008 and 2009. For example, many equity markets—in economies large and small—have endured declines of 30 percent or more at the trough. Credit spreads have jumped, especially for lower-rated firms. Signs of stress have also emerged in major short-term funding markets, including the global market for U.S. dollars.

Market strain

Volatility has spiked, in some cases to levels last seen during the global financial crisis, amid the uncertainty about the economic impact of the pandemic. With the spike in volatility, market liquidity has deteriorated significantly, including in markets traditionally seen as deep, like the U.S. Treasury market, contributing to abrupt asset price moves.

To preserve the stability of the global financial system and support the global economy, central banks across the globe have been the first line of defense. First, they have significantly eased monetary policy by cutting policy rates—in the case of advanced economies to historic lows. And half of the central banks in emerging markets and lower income countries have also cut policy rates. The effects of rate cuts will be reinforced through central banks’ guidance about the future path of monetary policy and expanded asset purchase programs.

Second, central banks have provided additional liquidity to the financial system, including through open market operations.

Third, a number of central banks have agreed to enhance the provision of U.S. dollar liquidity through swap line arrangements.

And finally, central banks have reactivated programs used during the global financial crisis as well as launched a range of new broad-based programs, including to purchase riskier assets such as corporate bonds. By effectively stepping in as “buyers of last resort” in these markets and helping contain upward pressures on the cost of credit, central banks are ensuring that households and firms continue to have access to credit at an affordable price.

To date, central banks have announced plans to expand their provision of liquidity — including through loans and asset purchases—by at least $6 trillion and have indicated a readiness to do more if conditions warrant.

As a result of these actions aimed at containing the fallout from the pandemic, investor sentiment has stabilized in recent weeks. Strains in some markets have abated somewhat and risk asset prices have recovered a portion of their earlier declines. Sentiment continues to be fragile, however, and global financial conditions remain much tighter compared to the beginning of the year.

All in all, the sharp tightening of global financial conditions since the COVID-19 outbreak—together with the dramatic deterioration in the economic outlook has shifted the one-year-ahead distribution of global growth massively to the left. This points to a significant increase in downside risks to growth and financial stability. There is now a 5 percent likelihood (an event that happens once every 20 years) that global growth will fall below -7.4 percent. For comparison, this threshold was above 2.6 percent in October 2019.

As so often happens at times of financial distress, emerging markets risk bearing the heaviest burden. In fact, emerging markets have experienced the sharpest portfolio flow reversal on record—about $100 billion or 0.4 percent of their GDP—posing stark challenges to more vulnerable countries.

The global spread of COVID-19 may require the imposition of tougher and longer- lasting containment measures—actions that may lead to a further tightening of global financial conditions should they result in a more severe and prolonged downturn. Such a tightening may, in turn, expose financial vulnerabilities that have built in recent years in the environment of extremely low interest rates. This would further exacerbate the COVID-19 shock. For example, asset managers facing large outflows may be forced to sell into falling markets—thus intensifying downward price moves. In addition, levered investors may face further margin calls and may be forced to unwind their portfolios; such financial deleveraging may aggravate selling pressures.

As firms become distressed and default rates climb higher, credit markets may come to a sudden stop, especially in risky segments like high yield, leveraged loan, and private debt markets. These markets have expanded rapidly since the global financial crisis, reaching $9 trillion globally, while borrowers’ credit quality, underwriting standards, and investor protections have weakened. Since early March, high-yield spreads have skyrocketed notwithstanding recent declines, particularly in the sectors most affected by the pandemic like air travel and energy. Similarly, leveraged loan prices have fallen sharply—about half the drop seen during the global financial crisis at one point. As a result, ratings agencies have revised upward their speculative- grade default forecasts to recessionary levels, and market-implied defaults have also risen sharply.

Banks have more capital and liquidity than in the past, and they have been subject to stress tests and greater supervisory scrutiny in recent years, putting them in a better position than at the onset of the global financial crisis. In addition, the substantial and coordinated action by central banks to provide liquidity to banks in many economies should also help alleviate potential liquidity strains.

Nonetheless, the resilience of banks may be tested in the face of a sharp slowdown in economic activity that may turn out to be more severe and lengthy than currently anticipated.

Indeed, the large declines in bank equity prices since mid-January suggest that investors are concerned about profitability and prospects for the banking sector. For example, measures of bank capitalization based on market prices are now worse than during the 2008 global financial crisis in many countries. The concern is that banks and other financial intermediaries may act as an amplifier should the crisis deepen further.

Looking ahead

Central banks will remain crucial to safeguarding the stability of global financial markets and maintaining the flow of credit to the economy. But this crisis is not simply about liquidity. It is primarily about solvency—at a time when large segments of the global economy have come to a complete stop. As a result, fiscal policy has a vital role to play.

Together, monetary, fiscal, and financial policies should aim to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 shock and to ensure a steady, sustainable recovery once the pandemic is under control. Close, continuous international coordination will be essential to support vulnerable countries, to restore market confidence, and to contain financial stability risks. The IMF is ready to assert the full weight of its resources—first, to help protect the world’s most vulnerable economies, and, for the long term, to strengthen the eventual recovery.


FULL DOCUMENT: https://blogs.imf.org/2020/04/14/covid-19-crisis-poses-threat-to-financial-stability/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

IMF. 04/14/2020. The Day 5 Briefing of our 2020 Virtual Spring Meetings newsletter.

HAPPENING NOW

The first livestream of the Spring Meetings just kicked off with Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, who is presenting the latest outlook for the global economy as part of the launch of the April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) report. Watch it live.

THE GREAT LOCKDOWN: WORST ECONOMIC DOWNTURN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION

In a new blog tied to the launch of the WEO, Chief Economist Gopinath writes:

Under the assumption that the pandemic and required containment peaks in the second quarter for most countries in the world, and recedes in the second half of this year, in the April World Economic Outlook we project global growth in 2020 to fall to -3 percent. This is a downgrade of 6.3 percentage points from January 2020, a major revision over a very short period. This makes the Great Lockdown the worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis.

Assuming the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and that policy actions taken around the world are effective in preventing widespread firm bankruptcies, extended job losses, and system-wide financial strains, we project global growth in 2021 to rebound to 5.8 percent.

This recovery in 2021 is only partial as the level of economic activity is projected to remain below the level we had projected for 2021, before the virus hit. The cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 from the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars, greater than the economies of Japan and Germany, combined. Read the full blog.

LATER TODAY

At 11:30 AM EDT, Financial Counselor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department Tobias Adrian will speak to the launch of the April 2020 Global Financial Stability (GFSR) Report. Tune in to watch the livestream.

Director Adrian will also publish a new blog timed to the launch of the GFSR so stay tuned. I'll share that link in tomorrow's brief, along with a new podcast on the report. If you can't wait, subscribe to IMF Blog for immediate updates. You will have to re-enter your email address to access your subscription.

TOMORROW'S FOCUS

Tomorrow is our busiest day this week. We have 8 livestreams throughout the day starting at 5:00 AM EDT—press briefings on Europe, Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the G20 meetings, and the launch of the new Fiscal Monitor report. We'll also be streaming the Managing Director's opening press conference and discussion with Neil Ferguson and Azra Ghani of Imperial College London on how to save lives and livelihoods in the COVID-19 crisis.

The best way not to miss anything is to visit our full livestream schedule. Next to each event is a calendar icon, which will allow you to add that particular webcast to your personal schedule—whether you use Apple, Google, Outlook or another platform.

THE IMF AND COVID-19

We recently launched a hub for all of our COVID-19 content, including our latest analytical work on the economic impact of the pandemic, a global policy tracker that now covers 193 economies, a series of notes produced by IMF experts to help members address the economic effects of COVID-19, and recent news including press releases, speeches and more. If you are interested in the IMF's response to COVID-19, please read our latest Q&A.

Also, the IMF just approved immediate debt service relief to 25 member countries. "This provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months and will help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts," said Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

Finally, our new lending tracker showcases emergency assistance approved to member countries facing the economic impact of the pandemic. For upcoming discussions on emergency financing requests, please see meetings calendar of the Executive Board.

________________

ECONOMIA BRASILEIRA / BRAZIL ECONOMICS

PIB

BACEN. 14 Abril 2020. BC divulga o Índice de Atividade Econômica do Banco Central (IBC-Br) de fevereiro de 2020.

DOCUMENTO: https://www.bcb.gov.br/detalhenoticia/17045/nota

BACEN. 14/04/2020. Após 3 meses de queda, 'prévia' do PIB do Banco Central tem alta de 0,35% em fevereiro. No primeiro bimestre de 2020, antes da crise do coronavírus, o nível de atividade avançou 0,33%. Em 12 meses até fevereiro, o índice cresceu 0,66%.
Por Alexandro Martello, G1 — Brasília

A economia brasileira cresceu 0,35% em fevereiro, na comparação com o mês anterior, aponta o Índice de Atividade Econômica (IBC-Br), divulgado nesta terça-feira (14) pelo Banco Central (BC).

O indicador é considerado uma "prévia" do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), que é a soma de todos os bens e serviços produzidos no país e serve para medir a evolução da economia.

O resultado foi calculado após ajuste sazonal (uma espécie de "compensação" para comparar períodos diferentes).

Na comparação com fevereiro do ano passado, o índice de atividade apresentou crescimento de 0,60%, segundo informações do Banco Central.

De acordo com a instituição, na comparação com janeiro, o mês de fevereiro registrou o primeiro aumento da prévia do PIB, desde outubro do ano passado (segundo dados revisados). Foi o primeiro crescimento depois de três meses de retração.

Evolução do IBC-Br

EM % NA COMPARAÇÃO COM O MÊS ANTERIOR (APÓS AJUSTE SAZONAL)

SET/19
0,5

Fonte: Banco Central

Esse resultado ainda não capta os efeitos da pandemia do coronavírus na economia mundial e brasileira, que começaram a ser sentidos com mais intensidade a partir do mês de março.

Ainda de acordo com a instituição, foi registrada uma alta de 0,33% no primeiro bimestre deste ano, contra o mesmo período do ano passado, e de 0,66% em 12 meses até fevereiro. Esses valores foram calculados sem ajuste sazonal, pois consideram períodos iguais.

PIB e IBC-Br

O IBC-Br foi criado para tentar antecipar o resultado do PIB, que é divulgado pelo IBGE. Os resultados do IBC-Br, porém, nem sempre mostraram proximidade com os dados oficiais do PIB.

O cálculo dos dois são diferentes. O índice do Banco Central incorpora estimativas para a agropecuária, a indústria e o setor de serviços, além dos impostos.

Definição dos juros básicos da economia

O IBC-Br ajuda o Banco Central na definição dos juros básicos da economia. Com o menor crescimento, por exemplo, teoricamente haveria menos pressão inflacionária. Atualmente, a taxa Selic está em 3,75% ao ano, na mínima histórica.

Pelo sistema que vigora no Brasil, o BC precisa ajustar os juros para atingir as metas preestabelecidas de inflação. Quanto maiores as taxas, menos pessoas e empresas ficam dispostas a consumir, o que tende a fazer com que os preços baixem ou fiquem estáveis.

Para 2020, a meta central de inflação é de 4%, com um intervalo de tolerância de 1,5 ponto percentual para mais ou para menos. Desse modo, o IPCA, considerado a inflação oficial do país e medida pelo IBGE, pode ficar entre 2,5% e 5,5%, sem que a meta seja formalmente descumprida.

Diante da inflação em queda, por conta dos efeitos do novo coronavírus no nível de atividade, o mercado financeiro projeta uma nova redução dos juros básicos da economia em maio. A expectativa da maior parte dos analistas é de uma queda de 0,5 ponto percentual, para 3,25% ao ano.

BACEN. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Atividade econômica tem alta de 0,35% em fevereiro, aponta BC

SÃO PAULO (Reuters) - O Índice de Atividade Econômica do Banco Central (IBC-Br), sinalizador do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB), teve avanço de 0,35% em fevereiro na comparação com o mês anterior, de acordo com os dados divulgados nesta terça-feira pelo BC.

A expectativa em pesquisa da Reuters era de um ganho de 0,20% na comparação mensal.

Na comparação com fevereiro de 2019, o IBC-Br apresentou alta de 0,60% e, no acumulado em 12 meses, teve avanço de 0,66%, segundo números observados.

Por Camila Moreira

ECONOMIA GLOBAL

G7. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. G7 concorda com necessidade de ajudar economias emergentes em luta contra vírus, diz ministro japonês

TÓQUIO (Reuters) - Líderes financeiros do G7 concordaram nesta terça-feira sobre a necessidade de prestar assistência financeira e técnica às economias emergentes que estão lutando contra as consequências da pandemia de coronavírus, disse o ministro das Finanças do Japão, Taro Aso.

Os líderes financeiros do Grupo das Sete economias mais avançadas discutiram a necessidade de uma resposta coordenada para lidar com os danos que a crise da saúde está causando na economia global, disse Aso a repórteres após participar de uma teleconferência.

“Não há dúvida de que a economia global ficará sob pressão da pandemia de coronavírus”, disse ele.

Por Takahiko Wada

G20. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. G20 prevê moratória de dívida de até US$14 bi para países pobres, diz autoridade
Por Michael Nienaber

BERLIM (Reuters) - Líderes financeiros das 20 maiores economias (G20) estão discutindo uma moratória imediata da dívida de até 14 bilhões de dólares para ajudar os países pobres a liberar fundos na luta contra a pandemia de coronavírus, disse uma importante autoridade alemã nesta terça-feira.

A moratória da dívida, sugerida pelo Fundo Monetário Internacional e pelo Banco Mundial, provavelmente será a parte principal de um plano de ação que os ministros das Finanças do G20 devem ajustar e apresentar na quarta-feira, informou a autoridade.

“A Alemanha está assumindo a responsabilidade não apenas em casa e na Europa, mas também no mundo — e é por isso que apoiamos a moratória da dívida proposta pelo FMI e pelo Banco Mundial para ajudar os países mais pobres do mundo”, disse a autoridade, que falou sob condição de anonimato.

O plano para suspender imediatamente o pagamento da dívida é apoiado por todos os países credores do G20, bem como pelos membros do Clube de Paris de credores do setor público, disse a autoridade.

“Estamos falando aqui de uma soma total de até 14 bilhões de dólares que os países mais pobres poderão pagar mais tarde e, portanto, podem ser gastos em medidas relacionadas ao Covid-19”, disse o funcionário, acrescentando: “Isso certamente pode ser chamado de passo histórico.”

A questão da redução da dívida deve ser discutida ainda este ano, quando houver mais clareza sobre o impacto econômico da pandemia de coronavírus, disse o funcionário.

FRANÇA. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Principais credores vão suspender pagamento da dívida de países mais pobres, diz França

PARIS (Reuters) - Grandes credores internacionais concordaram em suspender os pagamentos de dívidas dos países mais pobres este ano, lançando um apoio financeiro para ajudá-los na crise do coronavírus, disse o ministro das Finanças da França nesta terça-feira.

Cerca de 76 países, dos quais 40 estão na África subsaariana, são elegíveis para ter os pagamentos de dívida no valor combinado de 20 bilhões de dólares suspensos, de um total de 32 bilhões de dólares que os países gastariam no serviço da dívida este ano.

“Obtivemos uma moratória da dívida no nível de credores bilaterais e privados, num total de 20 bilhões”, disse Bruno Le Maire a jornalistas.

Os credores do governo, incluindo não apenas o Clube de Paris, mas também a China, suspenderão 12 bilhões de dólares sob o acordo, que ainda será finalizado na quarta-feira.

Os credores privados concordaram, voluntariamente, em rolar ou refinanciar 8 bilhões de dólares em dívidas, disse uma fonte do Ministério das Finanças francês.

Do total de 32 bilhões de dólares com vencimento este ano, os restantes 12 bilhões pertencem a credores multilaterais, principalmente o Banco Mundial. Le Maire pediu a esses credores que se juntem à iniciativa.

CONFIANÇA EMPRESARIAL

FGV. IBRE. 14/04/20. Prévias das Sondagens (Divulgação Extraordinária). Prévia das Sondagens sinaliza fortes quedas em abril e menor série histórica registrada

A prévia extraordinária das Sondagens da Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV IBRE), com dados coletados até o dia 13 deste mês, sinaliza fortes quedas nos índices de confiança em abril de 2020. Em relação ao número final de março, o Índice de Confiança Empresarial (ICE) recuaria 27,6 pontos, para 53,7 pontos. Já o Índice de Confiança do Consumidor (ICC) cairia 22,1 pontos, para 58,1 pontos. Em ambos os casos, os resultados preliminares representariam os menores níveis da série histórica.

O Índice de Confiança Empresarial (ICE) consolida os índices de confiança dos quatro setores cobertos pelas Sondagens Empresariais produzidas pela FGV IBRE: Indústria, Serviços, Comércio e Construção.

A queda da confiança em abril decorreria da piora da percepção dos empresários e consumidores tanto em relação à situação atual quanto aos próximos meses. O índice que retrata a situação corrente dos negócios (ISA-E) recuou 29,4 pontos, para 62,2 pontos, enquanto o Índice de Expectativas (IE-E) despenca 39,7 pontos, para 48,2 pontos.

Houve forte recuo da confiança em todos os quatro grandes setores integrantes do ICE, em todos os 49 segmentos que o compõem. As maiores quedas ocorreram nos setores da Indústria e Serviços, em que a confiança caiu 39,0 e 34,9 pontos, respectivamente. A Construção e do Comércio registraram variações negativas de 29,1 e 26,8 pontos, respectivamente.

Entre os consumidores, o índice que mede a percepção sobre a situação atual cairia 10,8 pontos, para 65,3 pontos, enquanto o que capta as perspectivas para os próximos meses teria uma redução de 29,1 pontos para 54,8 pontos.

DOCUMENTO: https://portalibre.fgv.br/navegacao-superior/noticias/previa-das-sondagens-sinaliza-fortes-quedas-em-abril-e-menor-serie-historica-registrada.htm

COMÉRCIO EXTERIOR BRASILEIRO

FGV. IBRE. 14/04/20. ICOMEX: efeitos da pandemia ainda não afetam os dados da balança comercial

Os efeitos da pandemia ainda não aparecem nas estatísticas do comércio exterior. Um estudo divulgado no website da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC) estima que a queda no comércio mundial variará entre 12,9% (cenário otimista) e 31,9% (cenário pessimista). No entanto, como salientado no estudo, essas são projeções preliminares, pois incertezas quanto à duração, à intensidade e à expansão geográfica do COVID-19 dominam o cenário mundial.

No caso do Brasil, o saldo da balança comercial no mês de março foi de US$ 4,7 bilhões, superior em US$ 417 milhões ao resultado de março de 2019. No acumulado do trimestre, porém, o superávit de 2020 no valor de US$ 5,6 bilhões foi inferior aos US$ 9 bilhões do primeiro trimestre de 2019.

No mês de março, as exportações, em valor, aumentaram 10,4% e as importações, 10,6%, em relação a março de 2019. Na comparação entre os dois primeiros trimestres de 2019 e 2020, entretanto, as exportações recuaram em 9% e as importações aumentaram em 4,3%

O mesmo comportamento é observado nos índices de volume dos fluxos de comércio. As exportações registraram variação positiva interanual de 13,0% e as importações, 14,6%, entre os meses de março. Desde outubro as exportações estavam recuando na variação mensal entre 2019 e 2020, à exceção de dezembro quando ficou estagnada. As importações, por outro lado, vinham aumentando, desde dezembro. No estudo citado da OMC é ressaltado que o comércio mundial já estava em ritmo de desaceleração, desde 2019 em função das tensões comerciais entre os Estados Unidos e a China. O comércio mundial recuou 0,1% entre 2018 e 2019.

Os termos de troca subiram entre fevereiro e agosto de 2019, depois declinaram e ficaram estáveis desde dezembro de 2019. O comportamento dos termos de troca é influenciado pelo preço das commodities que representam cerca de 60% das exportações brasileiras. Na comparação entre os meses de março de 2019 e 2020, os preços das commodities recuaram 1,6% e do trimestre aumentaram 1,9%. Esse resultado levou a uma queda de 2,4% no preço das exportações totais em março e de 0,1% na comparação dos trimestres de 2019 e 2020. Os preços das importações totais recuaram em 3,5% na comparação mensal e 2,5% entre os o acumulado até março de 2019 e 2020.

O comportamento desfavorável dos preços das exportações significa que o crescimento das exportações fica dependente do aumento do volume, um resultado mais difícil de ser garantido num ano em que se espera uma recessão mundial.

Os índices de volume exportado para os principais mercados mostra variações positivas na comparação entre o acumulado do ano até março de 2019 e 2020 para o mercado da China e Ásia (exclusive China e Oriente Médio). Em todos os meses do trimestre as exportações para esses mercados cresceram em relação aos meses de 2019. Os maiores percentuais foram registrados na comparação mensal de março de 2019/2020: China, 12,1%; e, Ásia (exclusive China e Oriente Médio), 44,7%. No caso da China, os aumentos, em março, estão associados ao crescimento das vendas de soja (44%), minério de ferro (21%) e carne bovina (116%). Para o segundo semestre, as exportações para a China poderão cair com a redução dos embarques da soja. No entanto, se a economia chinesa voltar a crescer no final do primeiro semestre, como mostram algumas projeções, é possível que seja observado um maior crescimento das vendas de carne e minério. No caso da carne, no entanto, lembramos que se o acordo comercial com os Estados Unidos estiver em vigor, o Brasil poderá enfrentar maiores obstáculos para entrar no mercado chinês, em função das preferências concedidas aos Estados Unidos.

No mês de março, todos os setores registraram variação positiva em relação ao ano anterior, com destaque para a agropecuária com aumento de 28,6%. No caso da indústria de transformação, o resultado foi influenciado pelas vendas de óleo combustível (quarto principal produto da pauta, com aumento de 310%). Na comparação do trimestre, entretanto, apenas a agropecuária apresentou aumento de 1,4 %.

Chama atenção o aumento do volume importado pela indústria de transformação seja na comparação mensal (18,0%) ou trimestral (9,1%). Os contratos no comércio exterior não se traduzem em movimentos de embarque e desembarques imediatos. Sob esse prisma, os resultados podem ainda estar refletindo expectativas de um maior crescimento do nível de atividade em 2020 em relação a 2019.

A variação mensal do volume exportado da indústria de transformação foi positiva para todas as categorias de uso, exceto bens de capital. Ressalta-se o aumento de 6,2% para os bens de consumo duráveis, onde o aumento em valor de 320% de vendas de automóveis para o México explica em parte esse resultado.

Os volumes importados pela indústria de transformação de bens de capital e bens intermediários aumentaram 12,6% e 24,8% entre março de 2019 e 2020, o que indica um sinal positivo para o crescimento do setor. No entanto, como já exposto anteriormente, não esperamos que continue essa tendência de alta. A expectativa de piora na demanda da economia deverá levar a uma queda nas importações nos próximos meses.

Quando comparamos as compras de máquinas e equipamentos da indústria e da agropecuária, a queda de 35,8% para esse último setor em março pode causar surpresa. No entanto, em janeiro, as importações do setor aumentaram 76,5%, em relação a janeiro de 2019. Expectativas de novas desvalorizações e a colheita de soja e outros grãos no primeiro semestre explica esse resultado.

Perspectivas?

Projeções num mundo onde dominam as incertezas serão sempre sujeitas à revisões e erros. As expectativas são a de que o comércio mundial deverá apresentar um desempenho pior do que a crise financeira de 2009, quando o volume recuou 12,1%, mas já em 2010 ele cresceu 14,4%. Não só a queda em 2020 pode ser maior, mas a recuperação mais lenta. A crise do COVID-19 afetou o transporte de cargas e pessoas, canais de logística e as cadeias globais de valor. Surge um debate se os países irão rever suas políticas, em especial naqueles setores onde a dependência das importações é elevada. Em outras palavras, o mundo será mais protecionista.

No momento, as políticas comerciais têm reagido às condições em cada país. Estados Unidos e países europeus restringem exportações e o Brasil zerou as alíquotas de importações de 177 produtos. Alguns desses produtos tinham alíquotas elevadas de 35% (17 produtos), 26% (6 produtos), 20% (4 produtos), 18% (29 produtos), 16% (21 produtos), 12% (40 produtos) e o restante alíquotas que variam de 10% (2 produtos) a 2% (16 produtos).

Uma segunda questão é se o país conseguirá obter os suprimentos necessários. Nesse momento o Brasil se depara com a questão de quanto cada país concorrente está disposto a pagar a mais do que nós; e, no caso da China, além dos preços também conta a avaliação do parceiro Ter boas relações com a China, nosso principal parceiro comercial, sempre foi importante para assegurar as exportações das commodities brasileiras e, agora, também o é para ter acesso aos equipamentos médicos.

DOCUMENTO: https://portalibre.fgv.br/navegacao-superior/noticias/icomex-efeitos-da-pandemia-ainda-nao-afetam-os-dados-da-balanca-comercial.htm

AGRICULTURA

CEPEA. PORTAL G1. 14/04/2020. Preço do trigo no campo atinge maior valor desde 2004, diz Cepea. Indústrias precisam recorrer à importação, mesmo com o dólar alto, para garantir a oferta de cereal.

O preço pago pelo trigo no campo atingiu o maior desde 2004, quando iniciou a série histórica analisada pelo Centro de Estudos em Economia Aplicada (Cepea) da USP.

O motivo é a baixa disponibilidade do cereal no mercado interno, disse o Cepea nesta terça-feira (14). Os valores recordes foram atingidos nos dois principais estados produtores. No Paraná, a tonelada do trigo está valendo R$ 1.150, no Rio Grande do Sul o preço é de R$ 990 por tonelada.

Com a baixa oferta doméstica, as importações cresceram em março, mesmo diante do dólar elevado. De acordo com dados da Secex, as compras internacionais somaram 659,8 mil toneladas em março, volume 2,4% superior ao de fevereiro.

Já as exportações de trigo totalizaram 64,9 mil toneladas em março, 39,2% a menos que em fevereiro.

DOCUMENTO: https://www.cepea.esalq.usp.br/br

ENERGIA

UNICA. 14 de abril de 2020. FIM DE SAFRA NO CENTRO-SUL REGISTRA PRODUÇÃO RECORDE DE ETANOL

A região Centro-Sul do Brasil concluiu a safra 2019/2020 com 589,90 milhões de toneladas de cana-de-açúcar processadas, crescimento de quase 3% sobre as 573,17 milhões de toneladas registradas na temporada 2018/2019.

Segundo Antonio de Pádua Rodrigues, diretor técnico da União da Indústria da Cana-de-Açúcar (UNICA), “essa expansão da moagem, simultânea a melhora da qualidade da matéria-prima, refletiu na maior disponibilidade de produto, convertido majoritariamente em etanol.”

Com efeito, a qualidade da matéria-prima aumentou para 138,57 kg de Açúcares Totais Recuperáveis (ATR) por tonelada de cana-de-açúcar, contra 137,88 kg no ciclo 2018/2019. Esse crescimento, alinhado com a maior moagem, resultou em um incremento de 3,43% na quantidade global de produtos disponíveis, que somou 81,74 milhões de toneladas de ATR.

Somente 34,32% dessa quantidade destinou-se à produção de açúcar, o menor percentual dos últimos 22 anos. Com isso, a fabricação da commodity alcançou 26,73 milhões de toneladas, similar às 26,51 milhões de toneladas na safra 2018/2019.

Já a produção de etanol foi a maior da história do setor sucroenergético: 33,24 bilhões de litros – 9,94 bilhões de litros de etanol anidro e 23,30 bilhões de litros de etanol hidratado. O recorde anterior, observado na última safra, era de 30,95 bilhões de litros.

Este volume incorpora a produção de 1,62 bilhão de litros de etanol de milho, valor que também é o maior já registrado. Na safra 2018/2019, essa cifra alcançou 791,43 milhões de litros.

Em relação ao número de unidades em operação no Centro-Sul, a UNICA contabiliza 267 plantas com atividade produtiva na temporada 2019/2020.

Produção e moagem na 2ª quinzena de março de 2020

Na segunda quinzena de março, a quantidade de cana-de-açúcar processada na região Centro-Sul atingiu 7,02 milhões de toneladas, com 197,64 mil toneladas de açúcar e 439,13 milhões de litros de etanol produzidos.

A fabricação do renovável a partir do milho totalizou surpreendentes 115,51 milhões de litros, sendo 72% (82,84 milhões de litros) de etanol hidratado.

Sobre o número de unidades em safra, 87 estavam em operação até 31 de março, contra 80 até a mesma data de 2019. Destas 87 indústrias, 76 moeram cana-de-açúcar; 8 são flex, isto é, processaram tanto cana quanto milho; e 3 fabricaram etanol exclusivamente a partir do milho. Ao final da primeira quinzena de abril, a expectativa é de que 198 usinas estejam em atividade, frente a 157 apuradas em igual período de 2019.

Vendas de etanol

As vendas de etanol pelas unidades produtoras da região Centro-Sul caíram em março. No total, foram comercializados 2,30 bilhões de litros no mês – 148,62 milhões de litros destinados à exportação e 2,15 bilhões de litros ao mercado doméstico. Este resultado representa uma retração de 12,94% sobre os 2,64 bilhões de litros computados no mesmo mês de 2019.

No mercado interno, o volume comercializado de etanol hidratado caiu 17,75% para 1,37 bilhão de litros, ante 1,67 bilhão de litros verificados em março do último ano. Mesmo se comparado a fevereiro de 2020, período com menos dias úteis disponíveis para a comercialização, o recuo alcançou 23,39%: 81,46 mil litros diários em fevereiro versus 62,41 mil litros no mês seguinte.

Nos últimos 15 dias de março, as vendas de etanol hidratado totalizaram 671,81 milhões de litros, redução de 20,81% relativamente aos 848,35 milhões de litros observados em igual quinzena de 2019.

Quanto ao etanol anidro, a queda também foi brusca (4,78%), com 774,85 milhões de litros vendidos em março. Enquanto na primeira metade desse mês, o comércio do aditivo cresceu 5,36% sobre o mesmo período do ano anterior, na quinzena final diminuiu 12,97%, com menos de 400 milhões de litros vendidos pelas unidades produtoras no Centro-Sul.

Cabe destacar, que a redução nas vendas das usinas apenas sinaliza o comportamento do consumo. A queda real na demanda de combustíveis leves em março será conhecida após a divulgação pela ANP dos dados de vendas das distribuidoras.

Esse comportamento do mercado em março contrasta com o incremento das vendas observado na maior parte do ciclo 2019/2020, iniciado em 1º abril de 2019 e concluído em 31 de março de 2020. No agregado da safra recém encerrada, o volume comercializado pela região Centro-Sul somou 33,26 bilhões de litros, alta de 7,08% quando comparado aos 31,06 bilhões de litros contabilizados em 2018/2019. À exportação destinaram-se 1,91 bilhão de litros (crescimento de 17,00%) e 31,35 bilhões de litros foram comercializados no mercado doméstico.

No mercado doméstico, o destaque da safra coube ao etanol hidratado: o volume vendido atingiu 22,35 bilhões de litros, superando em 7,02% àquele observado na temporada 2018/2019 (20,88 bilhões de litros).

Rodrigues explica que “as medidas para conter a disseminação do novo coronavírus e a disputa envolvendo Rússia e Arábia Saudita no mercado de petróleo promoveram uma queda nas cotações internacionais do óleo e uma redução drástica no consumo doméstico de combustíveis”. Apesar do recorde no ciclo 2019/2020, estamos iniciando a safra 2020/2021 em um contexto de total incerteza e preocupação, alerta Rodrigues.

De fato, dados apurados pelo CEPEA-ESALQ/USP indicam que o preço líquido do etanol hidratado praticado pelos produtores no Estado de São Paulo caiu, em média, 35% em pouco mais de um mês.

“As usinas se prepararam para garantir o abastecimento pleno de etanol na entressafra, com níveis elevados de consumo. A mudança abrupta de cenário e a queda da demanda de combustíveis pegou todos de surpresa criando uma situação muito difícil, pois o produtor precisa comercializar etanol para fazer frente aos desembolsos típicos de início de safra”, explica Rodrigues. Se nada for feito, podemos considerar 2020/2021 como um ano-safra perdido, conclui o executivo.

Nesse contexto, medidas emergenciais para ampliar a competitividade do etanol e instrumentos financeiros que facilitem o armazenamento do produto são essenciais para oferecer o mínimo de folego à indústria canavieira. Se a situação atual permanecer, empresas podem paralisar as suas atividades, impactando severamente a comunidade local, seus colaboradores, fornecedores e toda a cadeia. Trata-se de um setor essencial para a economia, com a produção de açúcar, etanol combustível, bioeletricidade e, mais recentemente, álcool para desinfeção e assepsia.

UNICA. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. Setor de cana do Brasil vê queda nas vendas e ano perdido, se nada for feito

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - O ano-safra 2020/21, iniciado oficialmente em abril, pode ser “perdido” para o setor canavieiro do Brasil, caso não ocorra um socorro diante das quedas na demanda e nos preços em tempos de coronavírus, avaliou nesta terça-feira a União da Indústria de Cana-de-açúcar (Unica), que representa as usinas do centro-sul.

“As usinas se prepararam para garantir o abastecimento pleno de etanol na entressafra, com níveis elevados de consumo. A mudança abrupta de cenário e a queda da demanda de combustíveis pegou todos de surpresa criando uma situação muito difícil...”, disse em nota o diretor técnico da Unica, Antonio de Padua Rodrigues.

Ele lembrou que o produtor precisa comercializar etanol para fazer frente aos desembolsos típicos de início de safra, mas que as usinas de São Paulo enfrentaram uma queda de 35% nos preços do etanol hidratado em pouco mais de um mês, como resultado das medidas contra a propagação do coronavírus, que restingem a locomoção.

Nos últimos 15 dias de março, as vendas de etanol hidratado pelas unidades produtoras do centro-sul totalizaram 671,81 milhões de litros, redução de 20,81% ante igual quinzena de 2019, enquanto os negócios de anidro (misturado à gasolina) diminuíram 13% no mesmo período.

A Unica destacou que a redução nas vendas das usinas apenas sinaliza o comportamento do consumo. A BR Distribuidora, a maior do Brasil, disse à Reuters na véspera que chegou a registrar redução de 60% nas vendas de gasolina e etanol, e nos últimos dias o recuo estava entre 30% e 35%.

Neste contexto, o governo trabalha em algumas medidas, afirmou a ministra da Agricultura, Tereza Cristina, na segunda-feira. Entre elas, estão o financiamento de estoques de etanol e isenção de PIS/Cofins para combustível renovável, assim como um aumento do tributo Cide para a gasolina.

“Se nada for feito, podemos considerar 2020/21 como um ano-safra perdido”, disse Padua, da Unica, afirmando que medidas emergenciais para ampliar a competitividade do etanol e instrumentos financeiros que facilitem o armazenamento do produto são essenciais para oferecer o mínimo de fôlego à indústria canavieira.

De acordo com a Unica, se a situação atual permanecer, empresas podem paralisar as suas atividades, impactando severamente a comunidade local, seus colaboradores, fornecedores e toda a cadeia.

INÍCIO DE SAFRA

As usinas do centro-sul do Brasil produziram 439,13 milhões de litros de etanol na segunda quinzena de março, a última da safra 2019/20, com um aumento de cerca de 15% em relação ao mesmo período da temporada passada, na medida em que a moagem de cana aumentou e o setor registrou também bom volume do biocombustíveL feito a partir de milho.

A fabricação do combustível renovável a partir do milho totalizou “surpreendentes” 115,51 milhões de litros, sendo 72% de etanol hidratado, pontuou a Unica.

A produção de açúcar ainda foi relativamente pequena na quinzena, atingindo 198 mil toneladas, mas um aumento de 42% na comparação anual.

O aumento dos volumes também mostra que o setor iniciou mais forte o processamento da safra 2020/21, que começou oficialmente em 1º de abril.

Segundo a Unica, 87 unidades estavam em operação até 31 de março, contra 80 até a mesma data de 2019. Do total em atividades, 76 moeram cana-de-açúcar e oito são flex, que podem processar milho e cana, enquanto outras três são exclusiva para o cereal.

Apesar das preocupações com a demanda em tempos de coronavírus, a Unica prevê que ao final da primeira quinzena de abril 198 usinas estejam em atividade, frente a 157 apuradas em igual período de 2019.

Na safra passada, a Unica contabilizou 267 unidades em operação no centro-sul.

SAFRA PASSADA

A produção total de etanol do centro-sul do Brasil somou recorde histórico de 33,24 bilhões de litros em 2019/20, alta de 7,39% ante a temporada anterior, disse a União da Indústria de Cana-de-açúcar (Unica) nesta terça-feira, com usinas direcionando o menor volume de cana em 22 anos à produção de açúcar.

A safra de cana na principal região produtora foi concluída com o processamento de 589,90 milhões de toneladas da commodity, crescimento de quase 3% sobre a temporada anterior.

A fabricação de açúcar, por outro lado, alcançou 26,73 milhões de toneladas, com leve avanço de 0,8% frente às 26,51 milhões de toneladas na safra 2018/2019.

As usinas do centro-Sul direcionaram 65,68% da cana para a produção de etanol na safra recém-concluída, contra 64,79% na temporada anterior, apontou a Unica.

“Somente 34,32%... destinou-se à produção de açúcar, o menor percentual dos últimos 22 anos”, disse a Unica.

Por Marta Nogueira

AVIAÇÃO

IATA. REUTERS. 14 DE ABRIL DE 2020. IATA eleva para US$314 bi previsão de perdas em receitas de aéreas por coronavírus

PARIS/LONDRES (Reuters) - As companhias aéreas globais perderão 314 bilhões de dólares em receita devido à pandemia de coronavírus em 2020, de acordo com uma previsão do órgão representativo do setor IATA, que elevou sua estimativa ante os 252 bilhões de dólares calculados em 24 de março.

Os 314 bilhões de dólares representam uma queda de 55% na receita de passageiros em relação ao ano anterior, em um tráfego aéreo que é 48% menor, disse a Associação Internacional de Transporte Aéreo, em uma entrevista coletiva online nesta terça-feira.

Reportagem de Laurence Frost, Tim Hepher e Sarah Young

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LGCJ.: