As the conflict drags on, obtaining steady funding for Ukraine may become more difficult. Fears of a worldwide recession and worries about the inability of European partners to fulfill their financial commitments are on the rise. Furthermore, the Republican Party is poised to seize control of the House this coming week, as its leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy, has stated that his party will not provide Ukraine with a “blank check.”
According to Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, other nations experiencing debt issues are also impacted by the surcharge issue, not just Ukraine. These include Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, and Pakistan, which are facing flooding and humanitarian disasters, as well as levies totaling billions of dollars.
Weisbrot stated that “the IMF’s imposition of surcharges on countries already in crisis is illogical, as the surcharges are designed to hit countries already facing financial problems.”
According to him, the problem will get worse the longer the war continues and the debt in Ukraine increases.
Economist Jeffrey Sachs, who directs Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development, stated that “the IMF undercuts its core lender-of-last resort role” and that “these surcharges should certainly be eliminated.”
