Scott Bessent, Secretary of the U.S. Ministry of Finance, has started a devastating attack on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was accused of the institution to fade the exported economic dominance of China and to neglect her core responsibility in favor of climate and social policy.
In a top -class speech at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, Bessent criticized the most recent external sector report of the IMF, who claimed that global imbalances loosened. He described the report as a “Polyanna-ISH” and warned that the IMF was more concerned with “keyword-centered marketing” than with structural economic threats.
“This view is symptomatic of an institution that focuses on maintaining the status quo than the hard questions answered,” said Bessent. “The IMF must be a brutal truth ring and not just for some members.”
The comments mark the first formal intervention of the Trump government, as it intends to redesign the IMF and the World Bank. The White House, Bessent said, would not try to withdraw from one of the two institutions – despite the calls of some allies, to do this, but instead push for comprehensive reforms to concentrate the IMF on its original macroeconomic mission.
The finance minister argued that the increasing focus of the fund on climate change, gender equality and social problems “displaces” work in financial stability and trade surveillance. “These are not the mission of the IMF,” he said.
The remarks of improvements are followed by weeks of increasing tensions between the White House and the Multilateral Institutions and are supported in the middle of fears between IMF and World Bank employees of potential cuts in financing, the services of employees and the most important programs – in particular those who support environmental and diversity targets in development nations.
The sharpest criticism was reserved for the treatment of China by the IMF. Besser called it “absurd” that China continues to be classified as a developmental economy that are suitable for the aids, although they publish record trade surpluses and pursue aggressive exported growth. “We will not adhere to the IMF if we do not criticize the countries that need the most – fundamentally excess countries,” he said. “The IMF must call countries like China that have followed the worldwide distorting guidelines and opaque currency practices for many decades.”
The administration of Trump has accused China of distorting the global markets through oppressed domestic demand, overcapacity in manufacturing and artificial currency management.
Bessent’s speech came together with a more comprehensive debate at the IMF and World Bank Spring-Meeting this week about the future of global trade and whether the economic order based on the war based on multilateralism can continue to meet modern needs. The IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tried to close the gap, and demanded excess economies to adapt and to demand stronger trade cooperation.
The governor of Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, who also spoke in Washington this week, seemed to support parts of the US analysis, said China’s export-dependent economic model was “not forever sustainable” and demanded more balanced adaptation to the global economy.
While Bessent confirmed that the USA would remain in the Bretton Woods institutions, he made it clear that Washington expected major changes – and intended to install its own candidates in leadership roles to ensure that the reform takes root. According to reports, the administration reports nominations for important positions, including that of the deputy managing director of the IMF.
The criticism of Bessent reflects more extensive concerns from the White House that global economic management is reinforcing its founding principles and Trump’s broader push of reaffirming American priorities on the world stage.
As the largest individual share of the IMF and the World Bank, the United States has a significant impact on its strategic orientation – the Trump administration now seems to be operated.