US President Joe Biden plans to travel to Japan for the G7 summit next Wednesday, while the White House is “reviewing” his Asia-Pacific tour.
Biden still plans to travel to Japan for the G7 summit, but the White House is “overestimating” his planned Asia-Pacific tour, a White House official said.
It comes at a time when Biden is in very difficult negotiations with his Republican opponents to dispel default risks, as he originally intended to visit Papua New Guinea and then Australia.
And Joe Biden said in a press statement that negotiations with the Republicans to prevent a default on government debt are still deadlocked and have not moved forward.
Journalists in Philadelphia asked him if there was any progress in consultations on the situation with the increase in the national debt ceiling. “No,” the White House press service quotes the head of state.
The US administration has previously warned of “catastrophic” consequences for the US economy, including huge job losses, if the US defaults on its debt.
In January, the United States exceeded the $31.4 trillion legal debt ceiling, after which the Treasury Department had to take emergency measures to continue its financial operations, and the US administration in recent months called on Congress to raise the national debt limit.
The Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, agree to raise the national debt ceiling, but they face significant budget cuts. The White House rejected the demands, saying it was ready to discuss spending cuts, but lawmakers must unconditionally raise the national debt ceiling.
In turn, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress that the administration could run out of emergency measures to reach the national debt ceiling as early as June 1.
She repeatedly stressed that in this case, the country would face a default on the federal debt, which would lead to an “economic disaster” in the United States, and could also cause shocks in the global economy. To prevent this, Biden and the Republican leaders in Congress agreed to hold consultations.
Source: TASS + RT + AFP
