Washington DC - The G7 supports a process for debt cancellation for vulnerable countries, they announced this morning after Treasury convened a special Finance Ministers meeting. In a G7 statement, the ministers also encouraged an extension of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) into next year for the world’s 73 poorest countries.

"The G7 recognizes that some countries will need debt cancellation and now is calling for a process to cut debts," stated Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations finance expert. "With the poorest countries struggling with the economic and health impacts of the coronavirus, countries desperately need more aid and debt relief."

In April, the G20 agreed to a process for the 73 poorest countries to stop paying debts through 2020. So far, the initiative has allowed 43 of the poorest countries to free $5.3 billion for health and social spending to respond to the pandemic.

The G7 statement encouraged private creditors and banks to "voluntarily" participate in the debt payment suspension and seemed to criticize China for not fully participating in the initiative.

"Reading between the lines, the G7's statement is hard on China and weak on private creditor participation," said LeCompte. "All Chinese government entities should stop taking debt payments from poor countries and stronger action must be taken to ensure the private sector joins the coronavirus debt relief initiatives."

Earlier this month, several Finance Ministers joined the World Bank and IMF chiefs in calling to extend the DSSI into 2021 and arguing that private creditors should stop collecting poor country debts.

"It's time to extend debt relief initiatives to all developing countries, including Middle-Income Countries, struggling with the coronavirus pandemic," shared LeCompte. 

In October and November, G20, IMF and World Bank meetings will discuss the future of coronavirus debt suspension and relief efforts.

Read the G7 Statement here.

Reuters, the Financial Post, and other outlets quoted Eric LeCompte as G7 finance ministers backed an extension of a G20 temporary freeze in debt payments. Read more here.

G7 ministers back extension of debt freeze for poorest nations, urge reforms

by: Andrea Shalal, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Leigh Thomas

“Pressure is mounting on China,” said Eric LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert. “They’re being very specific here. All Chinese government entities should stop taking debt payments from poor countries.”

The ministers called again on private lenders to participate when requested, noting that their absence from the process has limited the potential benefits for several countries.

The G7 finance ministers’ backing for an extension will smooth the way for a decision by the larger G20, with a formal decision likely at their leaders’ summit in November.

Read more here.

Washington DC – A high-level United Nations panel report says global policies are needed to prevent trillions of dollars escaping developing countries through tax abuse and corruption. The UN group includes former heads of state, past central bank governors, business leaders and prominent academics.

"As countries combat the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus, they could use the lost revenues from tax avoidance, crime and corruption," stated Eric LeCompte, United Nations finance expert and Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. "Countries can emerge from the pandemic with resilience and fund public services if we can curb these staggering revenue losses."

The United Nations High-Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI Panel), reported that around $1.6 trillion is laundered per year. Due to corporate tax avoidance in the form of profit-shifting, $500 billion is lost to governments each year globally. The UN panel report comes only days after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released the “FinCEN files," revealing that global banks moved more than $2 trillion over an 18-year period in suspicious transactions due to a lack of enforcement.

"Hopefully the report is a wake-up call," said LeCompte. "We must move forward global agreements and policies that increase transparency in the financial system."

The FACTI panel will release a final report in February 2021. 

Friends,

As we near the three-year anniversary of Hurricanes Maria and Irma slamming Puerto Rico, we remember the 3000 lives lost and more than $100 billion in damages across the island.

The White House announced on Friday that FEMA will award $13 billion in Puerto Rico disaster aid to rebuild the power grid and schools. The President also said he supported the call of Puerto Rico's religious leaders and Jubilee USA to bring pharmaceutical jobs back to the island.

You made this possible because of the tens of thousands of e-mails, phone calls and letters you sent to the White House and Congress since the hurricanes hit. Now - three years after the hurricanes hit, Puerto Rico is still trying to recover and wrestles with a debt crisis. Please join me and call your Senators to approve the remaining relief that Puerto Rico needs.

Since 2015, Puerto Rico's religious leaders and Jubilee USA pressed Congress and the White House on debt relief. When Hurricanes Maria and Irma decimated Puerto Rico in 2017, disaster recovery efforts became intertwined with debt relief.

Because of our work together with Puerto Rico's religious leaders, we've won $44 billion in relief aid. With Friday's White House announcement, $26 billion of those $44 billion are now moving forward.

Call the Senate now. We need to move forward the rest of the relief we won and move forward an estimated $50 to $80 billion in disaster assistance. The Senate is considering proposals to reduce Puerto Rico's child poverty rate and job creation.

The US Territory dealt with a series of earthquakes earlier this year and continues to wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic.

Puerto Rico needs Senate action to rebuild from hurricanes, multiple natural disasters, a debt crisis and rising joblessness and poverty. In order to fully recover, Puerto Rico will need more disaster aid and debt relief.

Last July, 11 religious leaders representing more than 95% of Puerto Rico’s population wrote Congress on the growing challenges facing the island. The letter asked for additional disaster recovery monies, measures to bring back pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs to Puerto Rico and the authorization of $1.2 billion for Nutrition Assistance Program benefits that impact 1.5 million people on the island. The letter was signed by leaders of the Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Christian (Disciples) and Evangelical Churches. The Puerto Rico Council of Churches, Catholic Charities (Caritas) and the General Bible Society also added their names to the letter to Congress.

Puerto Rico's debt crisis and natural disaster vulnerabilities are flip sides of the same coin. Debt crisis solutions must ensure Puerto Rico is prepared to respond, withstand and recover from natural disasters and external shocks.

Your actions continue to make a big difference and as the Senate considers a range of Puerto Rico proposals, your action is needed now.

Up to this day, thousands of family homes remain damaged or destroyed, with residents living under blue tarp roofs. Please call your Senators and urge them to act.

Gratefully,

Aldo

Aldo Caliari
Senior Director of Policy and Campaigns
Jubilee USA Network
[email protected]
www.jubileeusa.org/support-us

Les Echos, the first and one of the largest daily financial newspapers in France, featured Eric LeCompte's comments on the recent election of Mauricio Claver-Carone as the president of the Inter-American Development Bank. Read the full article here.

Le candidat de Trump élu à la tête de la BID

By Thierry Ogier

Mauricio Claver-Carone devient le premier Américain à présider la Banque interaméricaine de développement (BID), au terme d'un scrutin controversé et dans une conjoncture particulièrement délicate.

Réglé comme du papier à musique. Le stratagème conçu par Donald Trump pour faire élire un de ses conseillers à la tête de la Banque interaméricaine de développement (BID) a parfaitement fonctionné. Mauricio Claver-Carone, un Américain d'origine cubaine âgé de quarante-cinq ans, a été porté samedi à la présidence de l'institution avec 68 % des voix.

Candidat unique, il est parvenu à surmonter les critiques de ses opposants qui auraient préféré reporter le scrutin en mars, en raison de la pandémie. Malgré le retrait de la candidature de l'Argentine, farouche adversaire de Washington, le taux d'abstention de 25 %, qui aurait permis d'invalider le scrutin, n'a pas été atteint. L'administration Trump a notamment fait pression sur le Mexique et les Etats d'Amérique centrale.

Ainsi, et pour la première fois en 61 ans d'histoire, un ressortissant des Etats-Unis va diriger cette institution, qui est l'une des principales sources de financement pour l'Amérique latine et les Caraïbes.

Faucon

« On n'a jamais vu ça dans l'histoire de la BID, assure Roberto Simon, directeur du Council of Americas, mettant en cause le profil idéologique du vainqueur. Ce n'est pas seulement le fait que ce soit un Américain qui l'ait emporté (NDLR : en violation d'une règle non écrite qui réserve la présidence de la BID à un Latino-américain), mais Claver-Carone est vraiment quelqu'un qui a travaillé à la Maison-Blanche sous l'administration Trump, dont il était le conseiller pour l'Amérique latine, avec des vues très radicales sur Cuba, le Venezuela et le Nicaragua. »

De quoi plaire toutefois à l'électorat hispanique en Floride, voire même aider Donald Trump dans la course à la Maison-Blanche… Le secrétaire d'Etat américain Mike Pompeo n'a pour sa part pas tardé à saluer la victoire d'un « grand défenseur des institutions démocratiques ». Cette mainmise sur l'organisation lui permettra également de freiner l'influence grandissante de la Chine dans la région.

Pandémie

Mauricio Claver-Carone va succéder au colombien Luis Alberto Moreno dès le 1er octobre. « Le rôle de la BID n'a jamais été aussi crucial qu'à présent. L'Amérique latine, qui est l'épicentre de la pandémie, subit le choc économique le plus sévère de l'histoire », affirme Roberto Simon.

Le Brésil, qui avait retiré sa candidature pour soutenir celle des Etats-Unis, souligne que « la BID aura un rôle pour mobiliser les ressources nécessaires et appuyer la reprise économique de la région, essentiellement par le biais du secteur privé et des infrastructures ».

Elections américaines

Certains ne dissimulent guère leurs craintes. « Claver-Carone devra administrer la banque sans prendre parti afin que les pays de la région puissent échapper à cette crise », estime Eric Le Compte, directeur de Jubilee USA Network, une ONG catholique à Washington.

Autre interrogation : en cas de victoire de Joe Biden à l'élection présidentielle de novembre, le nouveau président de la BID, soutenu par Donald Trump,  pourrait se retrouver en porte à faux. « Cette polarisation au sein de la banque risquerait de l'affaiblir », affirme un observateur, et ce précisément au moment où la banque aura besoin d'une augmentation de capital pour faire face aux nouvelles demandes de financement.

Jan Miyasaki interviews Eric LeCompte on the WORT-FM Radio 8 O'CLOCK BUZZ segment. Eric discusses his recent meetings with both the Federal and Central Banks Retreat along with a UN COVID- 19 Relief meeting. Listen here.

Washington DC - On August 27 and 28, the US Federal Reserve and other government central banks meet for their annual retreat. Traditionally held in the picturesque location of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this year the meeting will take place virtually under the theme “Navigating the decade ahead: Implications for monetary policy.”

“Government banks are grappling with a global economy projected to worsen,” said Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. “The meeting will give us a view of what role central bankers wish to play in the battle against the economic impacts of the coronavirus.”

The global economy is expected to contract by almost 5%. Emerging market and developing economies already held historically high levels of debt before the COVID-related crisis. Latin America is expected to contract about 10%.

These economic forecasts translate to United Nations projections that poverty will increase for the first time in 20 years. Ultimately, more than 130 million people will fall into extreme poverty during the next decade.

“The fate of the economy and global poverty levels are intertwined,” said LeCompte.

Washington DC - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin convened G7 Finance Ministers, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April, the G7 supported the G20 to implement a plan to suspend debt payments for the 73 poorest countries in the world through 2020.

"The G7 called on the G20 to consider suspending debt payments beyond 2020 and into next year for the world's poorest countries," stated Jubilee USA Executive Director and United Nations debt expert, Eric LeCompte. "Developing countries need more debt relief to fight the serious health and economic impacts of the coronavirus."

By year-end, the suspension of debt payments could free up $12 billion for low-income countries to invest in health services and economic recovery. The Finance Ministers encouraged all G20 countries to fully participate in the debt payment freeze.

"The G7 is pressuring China to fully implement the debt payment suspension and agree to extend the debt payment freeze into 2021," said LeCompte. "Unfortunately, the G7 took no action to extend debt relief to more developing countries."

When the debt payment suspension began, the private sector was encouraged to participate. However, much of the private sector resisted participation. In July, G20 Finance Ministers released a statement with stronger private sector participation language, but still fell short of offering a plan to ensure participation.

Many developing countries reeling from the worst economic impacts of the crisis do not qualify for current debt relief plans because they are classified as "middle-income" countries.

"Beyond expanding relief and aid to more countries, we need to permanently reduce debts for many developing countries during this severe global crisis," noted LeCompte. "Emergency aid can be delivered to countries by accessing global reserve funds or what's known as the Special Drawing Rights."

The Ministers also discussed improving transparency for global debt data, distribution of vaccines for low-income countries and growing economic crisis in Lebanon.

Friends,

In spite of setbacks, negotiators continue to hammer out plans for another coronavirus stimulus package. The thousands of calls you are generating to the Senate and the White House are making a difference.

Because Jubilee USA is so well organized in red, purple and blue states - we are hearing everyday that your calls are making it to key decision makers.

Over the weekend, President Trump signed a binding executive order to extend the freeze of student loan payments and interest through December. This is welcome news for 45 million Americans. Now with stimulus negotiations ongoing - we can extend more student debt relief, ratify our G20 debt payment suspension for the world's poorest countries and move forward vital aid for Puerto Rico.

 Below find COVID Stimulus updates and please take these vital actions now. If you already called, please call again and share these actions with your family and community.

1.) Puerto Rico - Ahead of stimulus negotiations, Jubilee USA met with the White House and Senate leadership about a path forward for Puerto Rico relief for the debt burdened island. 60% of Puerto Rico's children live in poverty. As stimulus discussions began, Puerto Rico's major religious leaders - representing more than 95% of the island's people took action. Arguing Puerto Rico needs job creation, food security, child poverty reduction and disaster aid, the religious leaders wrote Congress.

Jubilee USA delivered this vital Puerto Rico religious leader letter to every Senator and Representative. Using the hashtag #stimulus, please share this letter and release on social media, Twitter and Facebook. Here's the press release, religious leader letter and the release and letter in español. Please share and use the hashtag #stimulus so Members of Congress see your shares.

2.) G20 COVID Debt Relief and Aid - In April, together we won White House and Treasury support for 6 months of debt cancellation for the 25 poorest countries and a debt payment suspension for the 73 poorest countries. Now Congress needs to ratify and expand this debt relief. Your call is urgently needed to your Senators to move this forward. Please keep calling - our thousands of phone calls put this on the stimulus agenda.

3.) Student Loan Relief - With the President's executive order, 45 million Americans won't pay student loans through the end of the year. This is a serious victory. Now as stimulus negotiations continue, we need you to call and urge your Senators to extend the student loan debt payment suspension into 2021, include the class of 2020, suspend private student loan payments and extend bankruptcy protections to student debt.

The coronavirus health and economic crisis, continues to take the lives of our loved ones and the lives of too many members of our Jubilee USA congregations. 14 million kids in the United States are experiencing hunger, 30 million people are out of work and a third of the US population can't make their rent or mortgage payments. Around the world, 265 million more people face famine because of the coronavirus. Across the developing world, countries do not have the resources to fight the growing health and economic impacts of the coronavirus.

Your calls and actions on the stimulus package are urgently needed and are making a powerful difference.

Thank-you,

Eric

Eric LeCompte
Executive Director
Twitter: @Eric_LeCompte
www.jubileeusa.org/support-us