The debt ceiling and President Biden's trips abroad

2023-05-13 18:18:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Talks on raising the debt ceiling in the United States could affect President Biden's plans to attend the G7 meeting in Japan and the 4-party summit in Australia.

The impasse over raising the debt ceiling in talks between House Republicans and President Joe Biden could affect the US President's plans to attend the G-7 meeting in Japan and the Quad initiative countries in Australia . The trip is scheduled to begin on May 17.

"It is possible for me to postpone travel or cancel it and participate by video link in scheduled meetings," President Biden said.

While the participation of President Biden is still not certain, the finance ministers of the G-7 countries are discussing the final details before the summit, focusing on increasing economic pressure on Russia and finding ways to coordinate efforts against the practices of " economic pressure" from China.

"Not only to counter China's attempts to use the economy as a weapon against other countries, but also to prevent China from taking action in the first place," says Shihoko Goto of the Wilson Center.

On the eve of the G-7 meeting, the threat to the economy that the failure of the United States to pay its debts could pose further endangers the already fragile global economy, hit by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

"These shocks continue to impose significant costs on the global economy. The failure of the efforts to increase the debt ceiling by the United States may also affect the stock markets", says the US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen.

After the G-7 summit in Japan, the fourth meeting of the Quad alliance will be held in Australia, where the leaders of Japan, Australia, India and the United States are expected to participate.

"We will discuss the global economy, which is suffering from the burden of high inflation," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Formed in 2007 to strengthen economic and security ties, the Quad has also evolved, becoming a strategic alliance against China's growing influence./VOA