The U.S. contributes 17.46% of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quota. The recently agreed to Sri Lanka bailout agreement means, in effect, that U.S. taxpayers will contribute $52.38 billion of the $3 billion package – which will go, in large part, to help Sri Lanka pay off debts to its largest single creditor, China.
Our Washington-based Republicans and Democrats apparently to not have a problem with this….
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IMF Approves $3 Billion Bailout for Sri Lanka – WSJ
Colombo has been in talks to receive financial assistance from the IMF since last spring
By Philip Wen and Alexander Saeedy
March 20, 2023 – Excerpts:
The International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion financial bailout for Sri Lanka, a key milestone in the cash-strapped country’s efforts to recover from its worst economic crisis in decades.
Sri Lanka will receive approximately $333 million in a first disbursement from the fund following the signoff on Monday from its executive board of directors, the IMF said. The country will receive the remainder of its bailout package over the next four years as it makes progress on fiscal policy reforms and debt-restructuring talks with its sovereign and commercial creditors.
The $3 billion financial package, the IMF said, aims to restore Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability and mitigate the economic impact of a continuing recession on the poor and vulnerable.
Sri Lanka has been racked by turmoil after its foreign reserves dwindled last year to the point that it could no longer pay for imports such as fuel, cooking gas and medicines. It approached the IMF for a financial bailout after suspending repayments on its external debt in April….
…To receive final approval, Sri Lanka needed to show it had made enough progress on negotiations for debt relief with its creditors, including with bilateral creditors like China, Japan and India. China is Sri Lanka’s single largest creditor, having lent billions to the country through a number of its state-owned policy banks.
In January, the state-controlled Export-Import Bank of China provided a letter offering a two-year moratorium on debt repayments for some $3.8 billion in outstanding loans that Sri Lanka owes. The letter didn’t meet IMF requirements and the approval process didn’t move forward, Sri Lankan officials said.
The Chinese lender this month provided a second letter promising to restructure its debt in line with the IMF’s framework for public debt sustainability in Sri Lanka. India and Japan, as well as commercial bondholders, have also said earlier they will help Sri Lanka ease its debt burden, paving the way for the IMF to green-light a first disbursement under the bailout.
Economists said the IMF’s approval represents a crucial but early step toward Sri Lanka restoring its economic credibility and regaining access to international capital markets. The country needs to complete debt-restructuring negotiations with lenders, which could take months.
“Until that happens, Sri Lanka remains in a state of stress,” said Nishan de Mel, executive director of Verité Research, a Colombo-based think tank.
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Sri Lanka is in a “state of stress” …(?)
U.S. taxpayers are also in a ‘state of stress’… And it is high time to stop transferring U.S citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars, through proxies, to our arch enemies.
These insane policies perpetuate misguided foreign policy initiatives, provide aid and comfort to our enemies, and add to our already massive debt loada, and make our country weaker.
It is time to end transfer payments to America’s enemies. Period.
It is also time to ‘de-stress’ America with a bold new economic acceleration plan – to rebuild our economic power base, eliminate debt, generate massive budget surpluses, and restore economic liberty for all U.S. citizens.
The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens. It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.
The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.
The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America
$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2023 (5889 downloads)