US Finance Minister: Kristalina Georgieva must win Trump’s trust
US Secretary of Finance Scott Buzant said on Wednesday that the managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva and the president of the World Bank Ajay Banga are good leaders, but will have to win the confidence of the Donald Trump administration by redirecting their institutions to their main missions. «
He told reporters that he had met with both Georgieva and Bangga and his speech should not be a surprise for either. « I think they are good leaders and I hope that with their actions they will deserve the confidence of the administration in the coming months, » he said.
Busant also told reporters that it was not decided whether to continue the $ 4 billion promise for the World Bank Fund for the poorest countries, given last year by former President Joe Biden. This will depend on the US budget negotiations and the bank’s progress in improving its focus on development or return results, « he said.
IMF whistles near the cemetery
On Tuesday, Georgieva said that the IMF reviews the way it designs loans programs and determines their duration and conditions, and plans to focus on structural reforms that focus on the private sector and growth. She said the fund also examines countries that had repetitive programs – namely Argentina, Pakistan and Egypt – to ensure that loan programs were designed the right way.
Earlier today, the Finance Minister accused the two institutions of « diverting from his mission » and called on them to withdraw from « their stretched and unaccuted programs »:
| « The IMF was once unwavering in its mission to promote global monetary cooperation and financial stability. Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, social and social issues. These issues are not only the IMF mission and its focus on the fairytale. members. « |
He did not say that the US could withdraw completely from the IMF and the WB, but it made it clear that the administration was disappointed, in particular by the IMF, the Financial Times added. The conservative project 2025, partly followed tightly by the new administration, recommends the United States – the largest shareholder in the two institutions – to leave both the IMF and the World Bank, because their contributions there were only the waste of taxpayers’ money.
Financial ministers and central bankers are in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, against the background of tensions around the role of the United States in « Bretton Woods institutions ».
BUCENT insisted that the US and other countries « must make the IMF again the IMF. » He explicitly stated that questions such as climate, social sex and public topics that focused on the guidance of the current manager of Kristalina Georgieva, « are not the IMF mission. »
- The fund is becoming too close to Beijing, he added, and said that key reportpublished last year, comes to too optimistic conclusions about imbalances in the global economy, which Washington believes China is the main culprit.
- « Such an approach is symptomatic of an institution more committed to preserving the status quo than to the answers to difficult questions, » Badent said.
- « We are open to criticism, » he said. « But we will not allow the IMF to miss to criticize the countries that need the most criticism – mainly countries with (commercial) excess like China, which have followed globally deforming policies and opaque currency practices for many decades. »
- One of the problems, Belisant said, is that China is still treated as a developing country, which gives it a more favorable attitude than global institutions. As China is the second largest economy in the world, he said, « this is a developed economy. »
He also accused the World Bank of deviating « some aspects » on its original mission. « The bank should no longer expect blank checks against any hazy and fashionable words, accompanied by half -life of reform commitments, » Badensont criticized. He insisted that the SB be « technologically neutral » and invest in energy production based on gas and other fossil fuels, which is considered contradiction with leading policies to combat the effects of climate from human activity.
The Associated Press also evaluates the Minister of Finance’s words as « sharp criticism of the World Bank’s actions and the International Monetary Fund ».
« America does not mean America alone in the first place, » his agency quoted his speech to the Institute of International Finance. « On the contrary, this is a call for more in-depth cooperation and mutual respect between the commercial partners. » This is another example of how Buzant, a former hedge fund manager who is closely monitoring the financial markets, is trying to reduce economic turmoil while President Trump is trying to change international trade through aggressive duties, the AP commented.
He also said that the Trump administration « will » use the US leadership and influence in these institutions and encourage them to fulfill their important mandates. » Some of Belishnt’s criticism reflects the Trump administration’s efforts to eradicate the progressive ideology of the US federal institutions.
