US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates US will stay in the Bank and Fund, claiming “America First does not mean America alone,” as tariffs and rising debt vulnerabilities prompt gloomy forecast.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicates US will stay in the Bank and Fund, claiming “America First does not mean America alone,” as tariffs and rising debt vulnerabilities prompt gloomy forecast.
The South African G20 Presidency failed to issue a communiqué and opted not to issue a Chair’s statement at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings as the US administration’s explicit hostility to multilateralism significantly decreases the potential for consensus across all multilateral fora.
At this year’s Spring Meetings, the G24 communiqué failed to present strategic solutions for multilateralism’s future, offering no real path to address the multiple crises facing the world.
Faced with deafening silence from Bank and Fund leadership on climate issues at the Spring Meetings, climate vulnerable countries demand urgent changes to global financial architecture.
IMFC chair’s statement promises private sector-led growth, productivity, and job creation, while ignoring climate action, in an almost word for word copy of US Treasury Secretary’s speech at Spring Meetings.
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum on Thursday the 24th of April titled 'Missing labour: Fixing the Fund’s approach to the gendered division of labour'
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum on 23 April 2025 titled 'Hidden debt: tackling grand corruption in debt management to safeguard financing for development'.
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum session on 23 April 2025, titled "Decoding IMF Accounting, unlocking the full potential of SDRs".
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum on 22nd April titled How the Jubilee Year Can Address the Debt and Development Crises in the Global South?
As the World Bank and IMF prepare for the 2025 Spring Meetings, the US executive order reviewing its participation in global institutions has heightened long-standing concerns about the direction of the Bretton Woods system – with civil society turning to FfD4 to reimagine the future of multilateralism.
The role of Bretton Woods Institutions remains a key point of contention, amidst their stark governance deficits.
The ‘aid trap’ continues in light of significant ODA cuts amidst political change in donor countries, as the BWIs continue to facilitate the financialisation of essential services like healthcare.