IMF breakthrough seen bolstering US on world stage
Surprise accord ends 5-year stalemate over overhaul of its governance structure
Washington
A STRING of agreements between the White House and Congress, capped by last month's surprise accord that ended a five-year impasse over the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has eased, though not dispelled, concerns that the US is retreating from global economic leadership.
From early 2015, allies had much to fret about, and they did: China was on the rise and the US was on the sidelines as countries joined Beijing's new international development bank. Political dysfunction at home threatened President Barack Obama's power to negotiate trade agreements, including a landmark trans-Pacific accord. The Republican-controlled Congress had closed the nation's 81-year-old Export-Import Bank and was threatening government shutdowns.
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