Argentine President Cristina Fernandez announced on Thursday a plan totaling US$3.7 billion to deal with the spreading global financial crisis.

The plan includes initiatives to encourage investment, protect employment, and boost consumption and production, as well as measures such as tax cut for exports of farm produce, Fernandez told a Cabinet meeting.

Under the plan, the automotive sector will get US$885 million "in order to keep the activity level" since it has been one of the local growth levers during the last years, and 857 million dollars will go to small- and medium-sized companies for they are the major employment generators.

Tax cuts for exports of wheat and corn will be 23 percent and 20 percent respectively.

"Loans for the consumption," totaling more than 1 billion dollars, will be set up to lend a maximum of 1,500 dollars to each debtor for the purchase of electrical appliances.

The plan will be materialized mainly through public banks, specially the Nacion (BNA), Provincia de Buenos Aires (BAPRO) and Inversion y Comercio Exterior (BICE), the president said.

Fernandez said the ongoing international financial crisis poses a grave challenge to Argentina's economic growth and demands joint efforts from government officials, business people and workers to tackle it.

(Xinhua News agency December 5, 2008)