"IMF, World Bank need reforms" - US Treasury Secretary "pulls the plug" on institutions
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sharply criticized the operations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, even as he sought to reassure worried investors that the United States would maintain its global leadership role.
"America First does not mean America alone," he said in a speech at the Institute of International Finance, where he also pledged support for the core missions of multilateral banks. "Rather, it is a call for deeper cooperation and mutual respect among trading partners."
Although Bessent said the IMF and World Bank are “failing,” he did not call for the U.S. to withdraw from the institutions, as some conservatives had claimed in a Project 2025 proposal created by the Heritage Foundation.
He said the institutions "play critical roles in the international system. And the Trump administration is willing to work with them, as long as they remain true to their missions."
US President Donald Trump said a few days ago that the 145% tariffs on China could be "significantly reduced".
Bessent wants the U.S. to increase production while China increases consumption, making its economy less dependent on flooding the globe with cheap exports. "If they want to rebalance, let's do it together," he said. "This is a tremendous opportunity."
Beijing said that "applying pressure is not the right way to deal with China and simply will not work."
However, Bessent's speech in Washington represents a scathing attack on the IMF and the World Bank, which provide loans and other financial support around the world.
He said the Trump administration "will leverage U.S. leadership and influence in these institutions and push them to fulfill their important mandates."
Some of Bessent's criticisms reflected the Trump administration's efforts to root out progressive ideology from federal institutions. He said the IMF "has suffered from mission delays" and "devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender and social issues."
Bessent highlighted that there were similar problems at the World Bank, which, according to him, "should no longer expect blank checks for useless marketing, accompanied by weak commitments to reforms."
Despite the criticism, Bessent's support for the IMF and the World Bank came as a relief to bankers and development analysts, who were partly expecting an announcement of U.S. withdrawal from the organizations.
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