The financial ministers of the Group of Seven began this Thursday in Japan a meeting marked by uncertainty about the debt ceiling in the United States and the danger of a suspension of payments as one of the biggest threats to the global economy.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said one of her priorities in Niigata, a port city on the Sea of Japan coast, would be to stress the importance of resolving the dispute between Democrats and Republicans over the national debt in the world’s largest economy. of the world.
“A suspension of payments is frankly unthinkable,” Yellen told reporters before the general meeting. “The United States should never default. It would be a catastrophe.”
The debt tussle threatens to make the government unable to pay for school teachers, health care for veterans and crucial benefits for many Americans, he said. It also undermines America’s economic leadership.
During her stay in Japan, Yellen was also scheduled to reassure her counterparts about the recent bank failures, which have raised concerns about risks in the global financial system.
Finance ministers and central bank governors meet for three days ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit scheduled for Hiroshima later this month.
US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he had a “productive” meeting Tuesday with congressional leaders to try to raise the country’s debt limit.
They would meet again on Friday as the calendar moves toward June 1, the date the US government is feared to run out of money to pay its debts.
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