§262p–17 Support for International Initiatives to Provide Debt Restructuring or Relief to Developing Countries with Unsustainable Levels of Debt

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must work with the Secretary of State to push international lenders, the G20, and both official and private creditors to use and improve the Common Framework (or a similar international debt process). They must publish clear, accountable rules to do this. These rules must include debt-sustainability targets for each country asking for help; fair burden-sharing rules for all creditors no matter their type; stronger debt disclosure by creditors and debtor countries (including data sharing and, when possible, public terms); a way to let lower middle-income countries qualify if they meet the criteria; steps to speed up access to relief; and stronger rules about loans tied to assets or revenue and about secured (collateralized) debt. The Treasury must also press for debt restructuring or relief, including a possible temporary pause on payments if a country requests it under the Common Framework from the time of an IMF staff agreement until a creditor memorandum of understanding is finished. The United States’ Executive Directors at the IMF and World Bank must use the U.S. voice and vote to support these efforts. Not later than 120 days after December 23, 2022, and every year after that, the Treasury, with the State Department, must send a report to four Congressional committees. The report must say what actions were taken with international financial institutions, official creditors (including the government of and state-owned companies in the People’s Republic of China), and commercial creditor groups to help countries get debt relief under the Common Framework or a similar process; describe any problems that stop timely restructuring, including creditors refusing to share or publish needed information or refusing to join fair burden-sharing; and give recommendations to fix those problems.