ISTANBUL

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to refocus on their founding missions on Wednesday and expressed a willingness to work with them as long as they remain true to their missions.

"These twin institutions were born after a period of intense geopolitical and economic volatility. The purpose of the IMF and the World Bank was to better align national interests with international order, thereby bringing stability to an unstable world," he said at the Institute of International Finance's Global Outlook Forum in Washington DC.

Bessent noted to bring order to the international system, the IMF and the World Bank must first be reconnected with their founding missions, stressing that the overstepping of the limits of their mandate has led them off course and important reforms are needed to ensure that they serve their stakeholders.

Emphasizing that the Trump administration is committed to maintaining and expanding US global economic leadership, Bessent said, "The IMF and World Bank serve critical roles in the international system. And the Trump Administration is eager to work with them, so long as they can stay true to their missions."

"Going forward, the Trump administration will leverage US leadership and influence at these institutions and push them to accomplish their important mandates. The United States will also demand that the management and staff of these institutions be accountable for demonstrating real progress. I invite all of you to join us in working to refocus these institutions on their core missions," he said.

"America First does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners," he noted.

Bessent said the US wants to increase American leadership in international institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, and with a stronger leadership role, the “America First” approach aims to restore fairness to the international economic system.

Stating that imbalances are most clearly seen in trade, Bessent said it is why the US has taken action to rebalance global trade.

Bessent said more than 100 countries contacted Washington after US President Trump's tariff announcement, and the American administration is conducting meaningful negotiations and expect to meet with other countries.

He added that China in particular needs rebalancing and Beijing’s export-based economic model is unsustainable and damaging to the whole world.

Bessent stated that China can start the change by moving from its export surplus and shifting to a model that supports Chinese consumers and domestic demand, and that it will contribute to the global rebalancing that the world needs.​​​​​​​