G20 Urges U.S. Action on IMF Reforms by April

[unhappycamper]

http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/g20-urges-u-s-action-imf-reforms-april/

"The BRICS are wondering why they put up their money when nothing is happening." -- Jo Marie Griesgraber

G20 Urges U.S. Action on IMF Reforms by April
By Carey L. Biron

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 2014 (IPS) - The Group of 20 (G20) industrialised and emerging economies on Sunday formally expressed frustration with the ongoing inability of the United States to approve a major reform package that would see governance at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shift more towards developing countries.

The reforms were approved by the IMF in 2010 and have since been ratified by more than three-quarters of the fund’s member governments. Yet while the administration of President Barack Obama has been a key proponent of the reforms, the U.S. Congress has thus far been unwilling to approve the changes.

Because the United States, with around 17 percent of voting rights (or “quota” shares) has an effective veto within the IMF, the reforms cannot go forward without the U.S. vote. The process has now missed a January deadline, while a second deadline for a subsequent round of changes is looming.

“Given that the U.S. is a big part of the G20, it is no small victory that emerging market and developing countries were able to get IMF reform so formally prioritised,” Kevin P. Gallagher, co-director of the Global Economic Governance Initiative at Boston University, told IPS. “Such pressure is basically the US administration and the rest of the world against the U.S. Congress.”