Reforms to IMF hit serious deadlock: G20 official
(Reuters) - Reforms to the International Monetary Fund have hit a deadlock despite a declaration from global financial chiefs that they would move forward without the United States if it fails to ratify the changes by year-end, a G20 official said on Sunday.
The inability to proceed with giving emerging markets a more powerful voice at the IMF and shoring up the lender's resources appeared the most contentious issue for officials from the Group of 20 leading economies and the representatives for all IMF member nations who met over the weekend.
In a final communique, G20 finance ministers and central bankers said they were "deeply disappointed" with the U.S. delay.
...
Any attempt to break the package of reforms, proposed by the G20 in 2010, would be disastrous not only for the United States, but for the whole group, he said, because most countries have already gone through the ratification procedures.
...
At the G20 meeting over the weekend, officials tried to stay optimistic that the U.S., despite complaints from some Republicans have that the changes would cost too much at a time Washington was running big budget deficits, will come forward.
But the prospects are not promising, the G20 official said.
"It is impossible to defend national interests, and we are all forced to do so, and not offer a breakthrough solution that would respond to current needs," he said.
"At a time when the world has become multi-polar, why should one country should have the veto power?"
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/13/us-g20-economy-imf-reforms-idUSBREA3C03Q20140413