§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, working with the Secretary of State, must talk with international lenders, the G20, and both official and private creditors to push for faster, clearer, and fairer international debt deals under the Common Framework or any similar process the United States joins. They must create and publish clear rules and goals that cover: how to make each borrowing country’s debt sustainable; fair sharing of losses among all creditors (official, private, or mixed); better debt disclosure and data sharing (including by the People’s Republic of China and debtor countries); letting some lower middle-income countries join if they meet the rules; faster access to debt relief when a country asks; and stronger rules about asset- or revenue-backed loans and how to handle collateral in restructurings. They may support debt relief or a temporary stop on payments if a debtor asks, from the time of an IMF staff-level agreement until a memorandum of understanding with creditors is finished. The Treasury must tell the U.S. directors at the IMF and World Bank to use the United States’ voice and vote to push these steps. Not later than 120 days after December 23, 2022, and every year after that, the Secretary of the Treasury, with the Secretary of State, must report to the Senate Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations and the House Committees on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs. The report must say what actions creditors (including the government of the People’s Republic of China and its state-owned companies, and commercial creditor groups) have taken to help countries that asked for restructuring under the Common Framework or similar arrangements; list problems that stop timely debt relief, such as creditors refusing to share burden or needed information; and give recommendations to fix those problems.