A group of U.S. lawmakers is pushing the International Monetary Fund to change its “harmful policy” of charging heavily indebted countries surcharges on their loans, urging action on a long-discussed issue.
The IMF has for years levied an extra surcharge or fee on countries that need to borrow large sums of money. But it recently started a review of such policies with discussions expected at the annual meeting later this month.
The issue may be attracting more attention because nearly three times as many countries pay surcharges now compared to 2019. The surcharges will total about $13 billion between 2024 and 2033, with Ukraine alone expected to pay nearly $3 billion, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
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About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
