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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (57730)	8/31/2000 7:34:08 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116764

US Officials and IMF Face Accusations Washington Bureau September 19, 1999 The charge that U.S. officials -- most notably Vice President Al Gore -- looked the other way while President Boris Yeltsin government countenanced looting of Russia's natural resources and the theft of international aid probably will be aired repeatedly during hearings on Capitol Hill this week. (cont) newsmax.com

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (57730)	8/31/2000 7:38:09 AM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116764

IMF Politics Bruce Bartlett March 8, 2000 Today, Congress will receive the report of a commission it established last year to recommend changes in U.S. policy toward the international financial institutions. These include the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization and others. The International Financial Institutions Advisory Commission is chaired by economist Allan Meltzer of Carnegie-Mellon University. The commission report comes at a time when the IMF in particular is roiled in controversy over a new managing director. Historically, the director has always been a European and the U.S. has deferred to Europe's choice for this important position. (Similarly, the president of the World Bank has always been an American.) However, this year, the U.S. Treasury Department rejected the European choice, Caio Koch-Weser, a senior German finance ministry official. The stated reason for Treasury's objection is that Koch-Weser does not have sufficient "stature" or "gravitas" for such a high level post. While it is true that he lacks the international visibility of a finance minister from a major country, he is hardly incompetent. By contrast, there are many senior finance officials on the world stage today with greater "stature" but without Koch-Weser's skill or training. (Would any European consider being governor of Arkansas adequate experience for being president of the United States?) Having worked at the Treasury Department for many years, I find it implausible that it would reject Koch-Weser solely for its given reason. This is all the more the case when one considers that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a political soulmate of Bill Clinton, has invested an enormous amount of effort and prestige in getting Koch-Weser installed at the IMF. Consequently, the Clinton administration's action has been taken very badly in Berlin and could cause a serious rift in U.S.-German relations. With the stakes so high, the Treasury must have another reason for its actions. One thought is that the U.S. has used the IMF as a private piggy bank in recent years to help bail out Mexico, much to the displeasure of the Europeans. Treasury may view Koch-Weser as more willing to stand up against U.S. pressure than his predecessor, Michel Camdessus. Indeed, it is said that Treasury's real objection to Koch-Weser is that he fought U.S. efforts to get the World Bank to aid in the Mexico bail-out while he was on the bank staff. It is also possible that Germany was encouraged to elevate the Koch-Weser issue to a high level by the U.S. State Department. State has always been jealous of Treasury's total control of U.S. relations with the IFIs, especially since the demise of the Cold War has made economics the top issue in international affairs. State may have assured Schroeder that the Treasury would back off, thus forcing a showdown. Either way, State would win, either by embarrassing Treasury or by being owed a big favor from Schroeder should he prevail. The IMF controversy comes at a time when the IMF's standing in Congress has probably never been lower. Just last week, Congressman Jim Saxton (Rep.-NJ) introduced legislation that requires the Treasury Secretary to take back the U.S.'s financial contribution to the IMF unless fundamental reforms are implemented there immediately.(cont) newsmax.com