Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over the US budget for weeks. After a brief ray of hope, it’s probably going to take a step back. Biden is still confident.
According to the White House, negotiations on raising the debt ceiling in the USA are proving difficult.
“We have serious differences,” said US government spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. US President Joe Biden is confident that there is a way forward and that a solution is possible. Biden was also closely involved in the negotiations during his participation in the G7 summit.
Danger of a global financial crisis
Recently, the tough negotiations had even been temporarily interrupted – after both sides had previously sent out encouraging signals. Republican negotiators left talks about an hour after they began yesterday, US media reported. In the evening, the parties returned to the negotiating table.
US President Joe Biden was nevertheless confident. “I still believe we can prevent a default,” Biden said at a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Saturday.
When asked how worried he was about the negotiating situation, he replied: “Not at all.” These are negotiations, there are always different phases. Biden reacted somewhat irritably to heckling from a journalist. “Shut up,” the President snapped at the reporter.
There is a risk of non-payment if there is no agreement
The background to this is that the US government is threatened with default at the beginning of June if Biden’s team does not reach an agreement with the Republicans in Congress on raising the debt ceiling by then. In the USA, parliament sets such a limit at irregular intervals and determines how much money the state can borrow.
This time, the procedure has degenerated into bitter partisan wrangling that is dangerous for the US and beyond: A default by the world’s largest economy could trigger a global financial crisis and an economic downturn.
Biden remains confident
Because of the domestic political dispute, Biden’s participation in the G7 summit in Japan was at times even on the brink. He finally canceled the second part of his trip abroad – a visit to Papua New Guinea and Australia – to return to Washington on Sunday right after the Hiroshima deliberations.
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the debt dispute will also be discussed at the President’s talks in Hiroshima. “It’s definitely an issue of interest here at the G7,” Sullivan said. Other countries wanted to know how the negotiations were going. “And the President has expressed confidence that he believes an outcome can be reached that will prevent a default.” However, he emphasized that the topic did not trigger “an alarm” at the G7 summit.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
