US Treasury Department Archives

US public debt at record high above $22 trillion

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, World

Washington : America’s public debt has reached a record high of more than $22 trillion, according to data released by the US Treasury Department.

The amount of the debt as of February 11 was quoted in a daily statement by the department on Tuesday.

“The national debt has now eclipsed $22 trillion, as we added $1 trillion in debt over just the last 11 months,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a non-partisan organisation dedicated to addressing America’s long-term fiscal challenges.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in January estimated that federal budget deficit was about $900 billion in 2019 and exceeds $1 trillion each year beginning in 2022.

Because of persistently large deficits, the public debt is projected to grow steadily, reaching 93 per cent of US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2029 and about 150 per cent of the US GDP in 2049, according to the CBO.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has warned that the rising public debt in the US could lead to the next economic recession.

Analysts said the Trump administration’s $1.5-trillion tax cut and increased government spending have fueled the rapid increase in budget deficits and public debt.

“Reaching this unfortunate milestone so rapidly is the latest sign that our fiscal situation is not only unsustainable, but accelerating,” Xinhua quoted Peterson as saying.

“As we borrow trillion after trillion, interest costs will weigh on our economy and make it harder to fund important investments for our future,” Peterson said.

“We already pay an average of $1 billion every day in interest on the debt, and will spend a staggering $7 trillion in interest costs over the next decade,” he said, adding “we must put our fiscal house in order and begin to manage our national debt”.

—IANS

US Treasury Department sanctions five Iranian entities

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World

Washington : The US Treasury Department has announced sanctions against five Iranian entities.

The Treasury Department said late Thursday the five Iran-based entities were subordinate to a key element of Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the US action targeted Tehran’s “destabilising weapons systems”, reports Xinhua news agency.

As a result, US citizens are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for, or persons that provide material or certain other support to, the designated entities risk exposure to sanctions that could sever their access to the US financial system or block their property and property interests under the American jurisdiction.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US will continue to counter Iran with “additional sanctions”.

Last week, riots broke out in some Iranian cities in protest against price hikes and economic woes.

US President Donald Trump and a number of other American officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, have sided with the protesters.

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Gholamali Khoshroo on Wednesday slammed the US government’s attempts to intervene in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic.

“The current US administration has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilised conduct of international relations,” Khoshroo said in a letter to the UN Security Council and to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Khoshroo added that Iran expects all states to condemn such dangerous statements and policies and urge the US government to act responsibly and adhere to principles of the UN Charter and international law.

—IANS