A newly appointed Treasury adviser has dismissed IMF warnings on U.S. debt, saying the fund should examine its own forecasting record first. The row comes as U.S. debt tops $40 trillion and borrowing costs stay elevated.
01Summary
- 01David Zervos, newly appointed counsellor to the Treasury Secretary, said the IMF should check its own forecasting record before criticising U.S. fiscal policy.
- 02Zervos was responding to IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, who warned in Bangkok on Wednesday that U.S. growth alone would not make federal debt sustainable.
- 03U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in August that the U.S. could "grow our way out" of a rising debt-to-GDP ratio after debt passed $40 trillion.
- 04Zervos cited past IMF calls on the 2008 global outlook, Southeast Asia in 1997, Russia in 2022 and Argentina after its $57 billion bailout.
- 05The description says the exchange comes as 10-year Treasury yields remain above 5% and scrutiny of the fiscal outlook intensifies.
02Why it matters
The dispute underlines the scale of concern around U.S. government debt and borrowing costs. Higher yields and a $40 trillion debt pile can affect borrowing conditions across the economy and keep fiscal policy in focus.
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