The government plans to provide
"maximum support" for Italian businesses impacted by the
coronavirus, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday.
"The coronavirus epidemic will impact world commerce and
trade, Italy had invested in trade to the East and it is clear
that a phase is opening where we must give the maximum support
to firms to overcome this moment of difficulty", he said in
Skopje.
Di Maio said the foreign trade agency ICE "has 300 million
euros at its disposal and it will put it into redirecting
exports towards other markets".
"This 300 million euros will be funnelled by ICE into
boosting and backing Made in Italy brands and products", Di Maio
said in an interview with business daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
"It will be, first and foremost, our export component that
will enable Italy, via a targeted diversification of markets, to
cushion the possible slowdown of the world economy because of
the Chinese economy's slowdown after the spread of the
epidemic".
The US central bank is keeping watch for any impact from the
virus outbreak in China that could spread beyond its borders,
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday.
With the death toll now surpassing 1,000, transportation has
been cut off and businesses shuttered, which can delay shipments
of key parts to foreign manufacturers.
The Fed is "closely monitoring the emergence of the
coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill
over to the rest of the global economy," Powell said in
testimony to Congress.
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