US treasury secretary warns world is on verge of global economic downturn

US treasury secretary warns world is on verge of global economic downturn
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged Congress to boost its debt ceiling, warning {that a} US default would produce an “economic and financial catastrophe” that will set off a world financial downturn and threat undermining the nation’s capacity to supply world management.

“A default would threaten the gains that we’ve worked so hard to make over the past few years in our pandemic recovery,” Yellen stated Thursday in Niigata, Japan, the place she is attending a gathering of G7 finance ministers and central bankers.

“And it would spark a global downturn that would set us back much further.”

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, proven right here on April 20, warned on Thursday {that a} US default would set off a world financial downturn. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

“It would also risk undermining US global economic leadership and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests,” she added.

Yellen stated Congress was no stranger to elevating or suspending the debt restrict – having accomplished so virtually 80 occasions since 1960 – and urged it to behave shortly to take action as soon as once more.

He instructed Republicans ought to refuse to boost the debt restrict if the White House doesn’t conform to “massive” spending cuts.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Convention in Indianapolis, on April 14, 2023.
Former President Donald Trump instructed Republicans ought to refuse to boost the debt restrict if the White House doesn’t conform to “massive” spending cuts, regardless of the monetary implications of such a transfer. (Michael Conroy by way of AP)

“If they don’t give you massive cuts, you’re going to have to do a default, and I don’t believe they’re going to do a default because I think the Democrats will absolutely cave,” he stated in response to a query.

As leaders in Washington fail to make progress on a debt ceiling deal, Yellen has forecast that the United States may run out of money and extraordinary measures to pay its payments as quickly as early June.

To immediate motion, Yellen has been stepping up warnings on the matter in latest days, even personally calling CEOs to debate the implications of brinkmanship across the debt ceiling, a supply has informed CNN.

In a report revealed final week, White House economists stated a protracted default would wipe out greater than eight million jobs and lower the worth of the inventory market in half.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
White House economists stated a protracted default would wipe out greater than eight million jobs and lower the worth of the inventory market in half. (AP)

The report estimated the affect beneath three eventualities: brinksmanship, a brief default and a protracted default.

A White House spokesperson stated the protracted default state of affairs envisions a three-month-long deadlock.

Even a brinksmanship state of affairs, the place a default is prevented, would wipe out 200,000 jobs and knock 0.3 share factors off annual GDP, in line with estimates from Washington.

A US default would even have far-reaching penalties.

Such an occasion may have an effect on the worth of the US greenback, in addition to damage demand for imports from different international locations to the world’s largest economic system.

The US Treasury chief additionally laid out her “three core priorities” for the G7, one in every of which is to bolster the worldwide struggle in opposition to inflation.

Additionally, the group intends to redouble its dedication to assist Ukraine’s defence in opposition to Russia, and to debate “longer-term work to bolster economic resiliency and security,” Yellen stated.
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Source: www.9news.com.au