Reuters quotes Eric LeCompte on the G7's plans for a global economic recovery. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

U.S. tells G7 that it is back at the table to help with global recovery

By David Lawder, William Schomberg

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her peers from the Group of Seven rich democracies that Washington was committed to multilateralism and “places a high priority on deepening our international engagement and strengthening our alliances.” As well as the United States and Britain, the G7 includes Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada.

Biden has proposed a further $1.9 trillion in spending and tax cuts on top of more than $4 trillion of coronavirus relief measures enacted by his predecessor Trump.

“Over the last year, the G7 has not even spoken about special drawing rights, so considering that was part of this agenda, it certainly is progress,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, a charity group that focuses on reducing poverty. “In terms of getting to a strong global stimulus, SDRs have to be a part of the equation.”

Read the full article here.

Devex consults Eric LeCompte on the G7's first meeting and its global agenda after Joe Biden became the U.S. president. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

In Brief: US urges G-7 to 'go big' on COVID-19 response

By Adva Saldinger

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who participated in the meeting, said that “the time to go big is now” and that the G-7, with international financial institutions, “must work to address the challenges facing low-income countries who are struggling to respond to the pandemic,” according to a Treasury Department statement.

The agenda also included discussion of global debt problems, vaccine distribution for low-income countries, and Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, according to Eric LeCompte, executive director at Jubilee USA.

While no decisions about SDRs were made at Friday’s meeting — or even expected — the discussion will likely continue at a meeting later this month of the G-20 group of leading nations. The G-20 would ultimately include the liquidity-boosting move in an official communiqué if there is agreement, but LeCompte said it isn’t likely to come at this next meeting.

Read the full article here.

Reuters and Financial Post quote Eric LeCompte on Zambia's request to restructure its debt under the G20's new common framework. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Zambia seeks debt restructuring under G20 common framework

By Joe Bavier

But some have accused private creditors of not doing their bit in debt relief efforts. World Bank chief David Malpass criticized them for hitching a “free ride” on DSSI relief.

“As the G20 works out this process, it’s essential that they compel the private sector to participate,” said Eric LeCompte of Jubilee USA, which lobbies for debt relief for poor nations.

Zambia’s $3 billion in outstanding Eurobonds is not its only debt. It owes $3.5 billion in bilateral debt, $2.1 billion to multilaterals and $2.9 billion to other commercial lenders.

Read the full article here.

Washington DC – Zambia requested the G20 coronavirus debt relief process, the "Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative." The process allows up to 73 of the world’s poorest countries to seek support under the mechanism.

“The pandemic is hitting the economies of poor countries pretty hard and many more countries will be requesting debt relief," noted Eric LeCompte who leads the religious development group Jubilee USA and advises the United Nations on debt issues. "Zambia needs serious debt relief. Before the pandemic, 60% of Zambians lived below the poverty line."

Zambia joins Chad and Ethiopia who already triggered the G20 debt reduction process. Zambia was the first African country to default on its debt since the COVID-19 crisis began.

Africa faces its first recession in 25 years as the region struggles with spreading infections and lack of access to vaccines.

“An important part of this debt reduction process is that countries need to ask the private sector to also provide debt relief,” said LeCompte. “As the G20 works out this process, it's essential that they compel the private sector to participate.”

Reuters quotes Eric LeCompte on G20 debt relief for the country of Chad. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Chad becomes first country to ask for debt overhaul under G20 common framework

By Andrea Shalal

“This is the first test of the G20 debt reduction process and the process must deliver serious relief for Chad,” said Eric LeCompte of Jubilee USA Network, a charity that focuses on reducing poverty.

Chad has officially requested a debt restructuring, the first country to do so under a new common framework agreed by a Group of 20 major economies last year, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Read the full article here.

Crux features Eric LeCompte on Biden's decision to stop the construction pipeline project in Alberta. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Environmental activists cheer Biden’s decision to stop pipeline project

By John Lavenburg

In a conversation with Crux, Eric LeCompte, called Biden’s decision “a step in the right direction to lessen our need on fossil fuels and start the move towards a greener economy.”

LeCompte acknowledged this was an expected move Biden had promised, but hopes there will be more prudence from the administration in the future.

“We have to move forward with the decisions that are win-win decisions that look at both workers and the economy as well as climate issues,” he said. “What’s going to be important for the Biden Administration as they move forward is to really be thoughtful as they move towards a greener economy and what they have to do to mitigate job loss in the short term.”

With the decision made, LeCompte said it would be “incumbent upon the Biden Administration to move forward on new green jobs sooner rather than later” to offset the job losses of the transition to a greener economy.

He also noted this increases the need for a new stimulus package.

“What needs to happen, and this is beyond just the pipeline issue, but it’s about delivery to workers in the new stimulus package. That’s where these workers can see real extended relief,” LeCompte told Crux.

Read the full article here.

Washington DC - Chad became the first country to officially seek debt reduction under a G20-established coronavirus response process. In the fall, the G20 approved the “Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.” Up to 73 of the world’s poorest countries could seek support under the mechanism.

"This is the first test of the G20 debt reduction process and the process must deliver serious relief for Chad," stated Eric LeCompte, the Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. "Before the coronavirus struck, half of Chad's people lived in poverty and 20% of Chad's kids would never live to their fifth birthday."

Before the G20 authorized the new debt framework, the G20 stopped debt payments for poor countries like Chad. Private creditors and commercial banks refused to stop collecting debt payments as countries suffered from the coronavirus.

“Roughly half of Chad’s debt is in the hands of private creditors,“ noted LeCompte, a UN finance expert. “One of the biggest tests of the new G20 debt reduction process will be whether or not the private sector will be pushed to participate."

Washington DC - The US Senate voted to confirm Janet Yellen as Secretary of Treasury.

U.S. News quotes Eric LeCompte on how the Biden Administration can approach trade policy to benefit Main Street over Wall Street. Read an excerpt below, and click here for the full story.

Joe Biden’s Economic To-Do List