US Aims To Shift IMF Clout To Developing World
美国正在幕后谈判中给欧洲施加压力，要求其大大降低在国际货币基金组织(International Monetary Fund)中的话语权，增加中国和巴西等发展中国家的代表权。公平分配美国希望各国在IMF的投票权能够更好地反映该国对全球经济中的贡献度。国家在IMF中占的投票权占2008年全球GDP的百分比美国17.1%20.4中国3.711.3日本6.16.3俄罗斯2.73.3巴西1.42.8印度1.94.9欧盟全体32.421.9德国6.04.2法国4.93.0英国4.93.1意大利3.22.6荷兰2.41.0比利时2.10.5西班牙1.42.1欧盟的其余20个成员国7.45.3注释： 以上GDP数据通过购买力平价法调整来源： IMF；世界银行这是二十国领导人峰会前一系列磋商的组成部分。二十国的财政部长周四开始在伦敦举行会议，他们已批准增加IMF的资金和责任，以有助于IMF处理经济危机和对问题发出预警。二十国集团正在讨论如何重塑二战结束后设立的国际机构，以更好地反映经济实力从传统工业化国家向发展中国家的转移。一位发展中大国的与会官员说，这些变化将需要好好讨价还价一番，我们准备好了讨价还价。美国正在推动两项建议。其一是2012年前将IMF董事会的席位从目前的24个降至20个，而发展中国家已拥有的席位不变。美国没有点名哪些国家应该放弃席位，但显然有些将是欧洲国家。目前，IMF董事会有8个代表各自国家的席位：美国日本法国英国德国中国俄罗斯和沙特阿拉伯，还有16个代表国家集团的席位。许多集团的席位都以欧洲国家为首。欧盟委员会曾提出给欧元区一个单独的席位。这遭到了欧洲有名政治家的拒绝。法国财长拉加德(Christine Lagarde)本周说，法国“不希望整个欧洲只有一个席位。”美国的第二个提议是工业化国家将所持IMF的份额转让给发展中国家5个百分点。目前，工业化国家持有约60%的份额。根据这项建议，欧洲也将失去话语权。曾在克林顿和奥巴马财政部门任职的杜鲁门（Edwin Truman）说，美国和欧洲的经济规模基本相同，但欧洲的份额是美国的两倍。杜鲁门目前在彼得森国际经济研究所(Peterson Institute of International Economics)工作。欧洲官员认为，美国的立场过于生硬，没有考虑到一些发展中国家的份额与其在全球经济中的权重相比也过大的事实。他们特别提到了沙特阿拉伯的份额过大。他们还希望消除美国事实上拥有的否决权。美国拥有足够的投票权，可以阻止需要85%多数批准的提案。IMF的186个成员国都按照反映各国在全球经济中权重的一个公式计算出的结果获得一定份额。一个国家向IMF出资的义务和投票权重就是基于这个份额。2008年3月，IMF提出了一项建议只变更约两个百分点份额的方案，结果也未能得到成员国的批准。美国现在寻求的方案是先同意转移5个百分点的份额，然后再磋商谁出让份额。IMF官员说，这项建议得到了中国巴西印度和其他发展中国家的支持，但遭到了欧洲的抵制。中国驻IMF代表何建雄说，中国对让IMF更加合法与时俱进和高效的各种选择都持开放态度。一位美国官员说，即使美国的两个方案都没有达成协议，它也将从中国和其它发展中大国那里有所收获。美国需要这些国家在其它G20问题上的支持。欧洲官员说，他们应该保留他们的影响力，因为IMF非常依赖欧洲。本周，欧盟财长将对IMF的出资额从1,000亿美元增加到1,750亿美元。Bob Davis相关阅读中国将用人民币购买IMF债券 2009-09-04中国率先购买500亿美元IMF债券 2009-09-03
The U.S. is pressing Europe in behind-the-scenes negotiations to sharply reduce its clout at the International Monetary Fund in favor of developing countries such as China and Brazil.The effort is part of the deliberations leading up to the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations. The G-20, whose finance ministers began meeting Thursday in London, has approved greater funding and responsibility for the IMF to help it handle economic crises and warn of problems.The G-20 is debating how to reshape international institutions created at the end of World War II to better reflect the shift of economic power from traditional industrial countries to developing ones. 'The changes will take a lot of bargaining,' said a G-20 official from a large developing country. 'But we are in a bargaining mood.'The U.S. is pushing two proposals. Under the first, the number of seats on the IMF board would fall to 20 from 24 by 2012, with developing countries that already have chairs retaining them. The U.S. doesn't name countries that should give up seats but it is clear some would be European.Currently, the IMF board has eight directors who represent their own countries -- the U.S., Japan, France, Britain, Germany, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia -- and 16 who represent groups of countries. Many group seats are headed by European countries.The European Commission has argued for giving the 16 states that share the euro a single seat. That has been rejected by prominent European politicians. France 'does not want for all the European to be represented by a single seat,' French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said this week.The second U.S. proposal would essentially shift five percentage points of ownership of the IMF from traditional industrialized countries to developing countries. Currently, industrialized countries have about a 60% ownership stake.Under this proposal, Europe also would lose clout. The U.S. and Europe have roughly the same size economy, but Europe has twice the ownership shares of the U.S., says Edwin Truman, who worked in the Clinton and Obama Treasury Departments and is now at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.European officials argue that the U.S. position is too blunt and doesn't take into account that some developing countries are overrepresented too, compared with their weight in the global economy. In particular, they cite Saudi Arabia's stake as too large. They would also like to eliminate the effective veto wielded by the U.S., which has a voting share large enough to block measures that require an 85% majority.IMF ownership is expressed in what the fund calls 'quotas.' Each of the IMF's 186 members is assigned quotas that are calculated by a formula that is supposed to reflect a country's weight in the global economy. A country's financial obligations to the IMF and voting shares are based on its quota.In March 2008, the IMF came up with a proposal that shifted quotas by only about two percentage points -- a change that hasn't been approved by member nations. The U.S. now is seeking agreement on a top-line number at the start -- five percentage points -- and then aims to negotiate over who takes the hit.The proposal has support from China, Brazil, India and other developing nations -- and resistance from European ones, IMF officials say. 'China is open to all options for making the IMF more legitimate, relevant and effective,' said China's IMF representative, He Jianxiong.One U.S. official said that even if the U.S. fails in reaching agreement on either proposal, it figures it will score points with China and other big developing nations, whose support it needs on other G-20 issues.European officials say they should retain their clout because the IMF depends heavily on Europe. This week, EU finance ministers increased the group's contribution to the IMF to $175 billion from $100 billion.Bob Davis
The U.S. is pressing Europe in behind-the-scenes negotiations to sharply reduce its clout at the International Monetary Fund in favor of developing countries such as China and Brazil.The effort is part of the deliberations leading up to the summit of leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations. The G-20, whose finance ministers began meeting Thursday in London, has approved greater funding and responsibility for the IMF to help it handle economic crises and warn of problems.The G-20 is debating how to reshape international institutions created at the end of World War II to better reflect the shift of economic power from traditional industrial countries to developing ones. 'The changes will take a lot of bargaining,' said a G-20 official from a large developing country. 'But we are in a bargaining mood.'The U.S. is pushing two proposals. Under the first, the number of seats on the IMF board would fall to 20 from 24 by 2012, with developing countries that already have chairs retaining them. The U.S. doesn't name countries that should give up seats but it is clear some would be European.Currently, the IMF board has eight directors who represent their own countries -- the U.S., Japan, France, Britain, Germany, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia -- and 16 who represent groups of countries. Many group seats are headed by European countries.The European Commission has argued for giving the 16 states that share the euro a single seat. That has been rejected by prominent European politicians. France 'does not want for all the European to be represented by a single seat,' French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said this week.The second U.S. proposal would essentially shift five percentage points of ownership of the IMF from traditional industrialized countries to developing countries. Currently, industrialized countries have about a 60% ownership stake.Under this proposal, Europe also would lose clout. The U.S. and Europe have roughly the same size economy, but Europe has twice the ownership shares of the U.S., says Edwin Truman, who worked in the Clinton and Obama Treasury Departments and is now at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.European officials argue that the U.S. position is too blunt and doesn't take into account that some developing countries are overrepresented too, compared with their weight in the global economy. In particular, they cite Saudi Arabia's stake as too large. They would also like to eliminate the effective veto wielded by the U.S., which has a voting share large enough to block measures that require an 85% majority.IMF ownership is expressed in what the fund calls 'quotas.' Each of the IMF's 186 members is assigned quotas that are calculated by a formula that is supposed to reflect a country's weight in the global economy. A country's financial obligations to the IMF and voting shares are based on its quota.In March 2008, the IMF came up with a proposal that shifted quotas by only about two percentage points -- a change that hasn't been approved by member nations. The U.S. now is seeking agreement on a top-line number at the start -- five percentage points -- and then aims to negotiate over who takes the hit.The proposal has support from China, Brazil, India and other developing nations -- and resistance from European ones, IMF officials say. 'China is open to all options for making the IMF more legitimate, relevant and effective,' said China's IMF representative, He Jianxiong.One U.S. official said that even if the U.S. fails in reaching agreement on either proposal, it figures it will score points with China and other big developing nations, whose support it needs on other G-20 issues.European officials say they should retain their clout because the IMF depends heavily on Europe. This week, EU finance ministers increased the group's contribution to the IMF to $175 billion from $100 billion.Bob Davis