Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

IMF calls for bold action on virus

IMF calls for bold action on virus

The International Monetary Fund on Monday called for a coordinated international response to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, while a former chief economist at the World Bank called for the urgent establishment of a global task force to deal with the health crisis.
"Considering the epidemic's broad reach across many countries, the extensive cross-border economic linkages, as well as the large confidence effects impacting economic activity and financial and commodity markets, the argument for a coordinated, international response is clear," IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said Monday.

The widening coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 3,800 people worldwide.

It has caused both supply and demand shocks, rattled investors and pummeled stock markets, and as seen in recent days, borrowing costs can rise and financial conditions tighten, Gopinath said in a blog post.

"And when these shocks are synchronized across many countries, the effects can be further amplified through international trade and financial linkages, dampening global activity and pushing commodity prices down," she said.

Kristalina Georgieva, chief of the 189-member global lender, last week said the coronavirus outbreak had affected more than a third of the IMF's membership directly. It predicted the global economic growth to be below last year's level of 2.9 percent.

Considering the "particularly acute shocks" in specific sectors, policymakers will need to implement substantial targeted fiscal, monetary and financial market measures to help affected households and businesses, Gopinath noted.

Such measures include cash transfers, wage subsidies, tax relief and unemployment insurance, as well as policy rate cuts by central banks.

China, for example, has temporarily waived social security contributions for businesses, she said in the post.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration will ask Congress to pass payroll tax relief and other quick measures to help reduce the economic impact of a spreading coronavirus outbreak as the number of confirmed cases in the United States hit 700.

"We'll be discussing a possible payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief, that's a big number," Trump said at a White House coronavirus task force news conference.

But while several countries have taken steps to cushion the blow to their economies and boost confidence, there has been "little visible coordination" among policymakers like there was at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday.

More than rate cuts, the coronavirus demands a coordinated global policy response, argued Kaushik Basu, former chief Economist of the World Bank.

"The number of daily new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus are finally declining in China. But the number is increasing in the rest of the world, from South Korea to Iran to Italy," he wrote in an op-ed Sunday.

"However the epidemic unfolds — even if it is soon brought under control globally — it is likely to do much more economic damage than policy makers seem to realize," the professor of economics at Cornell University wrote.

Already, the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by half a percentage point – its largest single cut in more than a decade, but the move, without other supporting policies, seemed only to confuse stock markets further; just minutes after the cut, stocks continued their downward slide, Basu noted.

Basu proposed that a multilateral organization such as the World Bank or the IMF should urgently establish a task force comprising 20 economists with diverse specialties, as well as experts in health and geopolitics, to analyze and coordinate actions against the crisis.

The group would need to submit its first report – with a list of initial actions to be taken by governments and, possibly, responsible private corporations – within a month, and provide updates on a monthly basis until effective policies take root, Basu said, adding that it could be disbanded in perhaps a year.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×