The US Congress has taken a step closer to granting long-awaited approval to reforms of the International Monetary Fund that would give China and other emerging economies a greater voice in shaping the institution’s policies.
The text of a US omnibus spending bill, released yesterday morning as part of a budget deal, includes approval for the Obama administration to finally vote for stalled 2010 quota reforms that have become a source of tension between the US and the IMF.
The 2010 reforms called for a doubling of the IMF’s quotas, or the capital countries contribute, and a reallocation to give countries such as China a greater say at the fund. Under the reforms now expected to go ahead, China’s voting share at the IMF would increase from 3.8 per cent to 6 per cent while the US would see its share shaved from 16.7 per cent to 16.5 per cent and preserve its veto. The big losers would be European economies, which would see their voting rights diminished.