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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Washington File

15 May 2003

Taylor: Creditor Countries Agree Debt Handling Critical to Iraq Future

(Treasury Under Secretary expects different views on details) (700)
By Andrzej Zwaniecki
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Creditor countries agree that Iraq's foreign debt needs
to be addressed in a way that ensures the successful reconstruction of
Iraq and the recovery of its economy, a senior U.S. Treasury
Department official says.
Speaking to reporters May 15, Under Secretary of the Treasury John
Taylor said that dealing with Iraq's debt will be difficult because
multiple parties have interests in resolving it and the exact amount
is unknown.
Private estimates cited by news reports put Iraq's external debt at
$400,000 million. But Kenneth Rogoff, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) chief economist, views that figure as too high.
Taylor denied news reports about major disagreements between the
United States and other countries, including European nations,
concerning repayment of foreign debt by Iraq and possible conditions
of such a process.
"I haven't picked up a lot of dissension in these discussions," he
said, referring to his talks with officials from other countries.
Nevertheless, Taylor cautioned that "we are going to have different
views on details" and that no one should expect Iraq to start repaying
any debt before the end of 2004.
He said the Bush administration will have a better sense of what the
stakes are when it gets better data on Iraq's financial obligations
and Iraqi assets from U.S. officials in Iraq, other countries, the
informal group of official creditors known as the Paris Club, and the
IMF.
Taylor said the Bush administration will want to stress to other
governments the importance of tracking down and freezing Saddam
Hussein regime's assets so that the Iraqi people can use the money.
He said he expects a donors' conference, similar to the one that took
place shortly after the Taliban regime had been defeated in
Afghanistan, to take place some time in the future to help accelerate
Iraq's reconstruction.
But first, Taylor said, potential donor countries must have a clear
sense of what the costs of reconstruction will be.
The United States would like the World Bank to assess Iraq's needs
before the Bush administration brings donors together, he said. Taylor
noted that the Bank has agreed to do such an assessment.
"The sooner the World Bank is there in Iraq to do needs assessment,
the sooner we will be proceeding" with plans for donors' conference,
he said.
Taylor said pre-war Iraqi contracts with Russian and other foreign
companies will be reviewed case by case.
"There is no blank-check policy," he said.
Russia, which was one of the most outspoken critics of the U.S.-led
war in Iraq, is one of Iraq's largest creditors, with claims estimated
at $60,000 million, according to news reports.
Taylor was speaking to reporters on the day Treasury Secretary John
Snow was leaving Washington for the Group of Eight finance ministers'
meeting to be held May 16-17 in Deauville, France. In addition to
plenary sessions, Snow is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with
his counterparts from Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Taylor highlighted issues the Treasury secretary will be bringing up
for discussions with finance ministers from G-8 countries -- Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the
United States.
Earlier in the day Snow said in a prepared statement that economic
growth remains the "top priority" for the world's economies and that
the most advanced countries must complement U.S. efforts to revive the
global economy by taking "immediately ... their own steps, appropriate
to their own circumstances, to spur growth, create jobs and contribute
to global prosperity."
Taylor said these steps should include structural reforms such as
combating deflation and restructuring the banking sector in Japan and
implementing labor market changes pushed by Chancellor Schroeder in
Germany.
Among the finance ministers "there is a growing sense that economies
need more flexibility" to unleash their potential, Taylor said.
He said that the Treasury secretary will also discuss with his G-8
partners issues related to financial stability in emerging markets and
President Bush's initiatives on sustainable development.
President Bush will attend the G-8 Summit in Evian-les-Bain, France,
scheduled for June 1-3.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)



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