Yellen: "If Debt Ceiling Not Raised, US Faces National Default Crisis"

Reached US Total Debt Ceiling on the 19th
Republicans Reject Raising Limit Demanding Government Spending Cuts

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, warned that the United States could face a national default if the debt ceiling is not raised.

On the 21st (local time), Secretary Yellen stated on Twitter, "Since 1789, the United States has always paid off its debts, and the perception that we are a country that can be trusted and relied upon in that way has supported the global financial system," adding, "A default would cause widespread damage to the U.S. economy." Secretary Yellen appeared to express concern in light of the fact that the total federal government debt reached the legally set limit on the 19th.

The United States has a cap on government debt. Although it has successfully avoided default crises every year, this time might be different. The debt ceiling is set by Congress to limit the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow, and the current debt ceiling is $31.4 trillion (approximately 38,779 trillion won). According to some U.S. media, Congress has raised the debt ceiling a total of 22 times from 1997 to 2022 to avoid default crises.

The current majority party in the House, the Republican Party, is refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless government spending cuts and other preconditions are met. Accordingly, the U.S. Treasury Department implemented special measures on the 19th, such as suspending new contributions to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF), to avoid default. However, this is only expected to buy time until June and is unlikely to be a fundamental solution.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.