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The Trump administration is backing a $13 billion increase in funding for the World Bank, putting aside its skepticism of the big government-backed institutions that manage the global economy, in part because it wants the World Bank as a counterweight to China’s growing international influence.
The change, which will allow the bank to increase lending to poor-country clients, comes after what European and other officials described as difficult negotiations over tough terms demanded by the U.S. One official described the agreement as “touch and go,” and many doubted it would happen.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday that the increase in funding would allow the World Bank to shift resources to poorer borrowers and away from countries better able to finance their own development objectives.
“There are reforms that they’re making that we think are quite significant along with the increased funding request,” Mnuchin told a news conference.
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