Booker Urges President Biden to Support $650 Billion Issuance of SDRs to Stabilize Global Economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged President Biden to support a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) totaling $650 billion. SDRs are an international reserve asset, distributed by the International Monetary Fund,  to help supplement member countries’ reserves, and have previously provided liquidity to help developing and low-income nations. In 2021, the IMF issued $650 billion in SDRs to help stabilize the global economy during the COVID-19 crisis.

“We urge you to support a new allocation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). We thank you and Secretary Yellen for your shared commitment to global growth and protecting American jobs, and applaud your work to prevent a global recession in the face of extreme economic conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent years of supply chain disruptions, inflation, and global conflicts. We urge you to once again act to steady the global economy and protect American workers by supporting a new issuance of at least $650 billion in SDRs,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators emphasized that the economic challenges facing middle- and low-income countries at the moment have the potential to drive global property and drag down economic growth in the United States and Europe. Without corrective action, there could be a decrease in “demand for U.S. exports, causing American workers in export-related industries to experience lower wages and increased job loss.”

“A new issuance of $650 billion in SDRs will help to counteract the effects of a global slowdown, save many lives in developing countries, and preserve many U.S. export-related jobs — including manufacturing and union jobs. The IMF determined that the last issuance of SDRs was beneficial for the global economy: lowering borrowing costs, boosting stability, and meeting long-term global need for reserves, all without an inflationary impact,” the Senators continued. 

“We urge you to act with similar urgency to the economic impacts of ongoing regional conflicts, economic tightening, and the uncertainty driven by anticipated changes in economic policy among the 16 countries that elected new political leadership this year,” the Senators concluded. 

The letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

To read the full text of the letter, click here.