US to provide Ukraine with $1-b loan guarantees

WASHINGTON - The White House announced on Tuesday that the United States will provide $1?billion of loan guarantees to help insulate vulnerable Ukrainians from the effects of reduced energy subsidies.

The new Ukrainian government has inherited an economy with enormous potential but that is currently financially fragile and uncompetitive, the White House said in a statement.

As the government implements important reforms, the United States will work with its bilateral and multilateral partners to ensure that Ukraine has sufficient financing to restore financial stability and return to growth, it said.

In addition to financial aid, the US government will also provide technical expertise to help the National Bank of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance address their most pressing challenges, dispatch technical advisors to help manage immediate market pressures, and provide expertise to help implement critical energy sector reforms.

The White House said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be at the front lines of an international package for Ukraine to support robust and market-oriented reforms needed to restore Ukraine to economic health, and the United States is working alongside international partners and the government of Ukraine to assemble a package of assistance to complement and support an IMF program.

"We are working with Congress to approve the 2010 IMF quota legislation, which ?would support the IMF's capacity to lend additional resources to Ukraine," according to the statement.