Washington—IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday she is confident the United States will soon reach an agreement to provide another cash infusion to the ailing economy.
“Let’s see how quickly it would be deployed, but I have no doubt it will be deployed, because it is necessary before the end of the year,” Georgieva said during a debate on the global economy.
The comments came amid the persistent gridlock in Washington between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders over how much to spend and where to direct resources to boost the world’s largest economy.
Treasury Secreatary Steven Mnuchin said again Thursday that a deal is unlikely before the November 3 presidential election, but that negotiations would continue with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The stakes are high, with implications both for the global economy and millions of Americans facing job losses and bankruptcy.
As the pandemic took hold, the US Congress in late March passed a $2.2-trillion rescue package credited with preventing a more dire economic collapse.
IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath told AFP that another package of a similar size could accelerate US GDP growth next year two full points above the 3.1 percent currently forecast.
“Thank God the United States has fiscal space” to provide more stimulus, Georgieva said at the conclusion of the Washington-based crisis lender’s annual meeting.
Pushing the package out sooner would be better since “that would provide a boost to certainty, and certainty is something we do need in this crisis.”
The latest White House proposal costs $1.8 trillion, while Democrats controlling the House of Representatives have approved a $2.2-trillion bill.
In an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday, Trump expressed his willingness to increase his offer, saying, “I would pay more, I would go higher.”
