'Avoidable risk': IMF urges US parties to avoid government shutdown, citing economic risk

The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that a US government shutdown would be an “avoidable risk” to the country’s economy, and urged all parties to achieve an agreement on continuous funding for the federal government.

“We certainly are urging the parties to come together to reach a consensus and find a way forward,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack told reporters at a regular briefing. “We do see a shutdown as an avoidable risk for the US economy.”

To avert furloughs of hundreds of thousands of government workers and a halt to a wide variety of services, from economic data releases to nutrition assistance, Congress must enact legislation that Democratic President Joe Biden may sign into law by midnight Saturday.

House Republicans, driven by a tiny number of far-right lawmakers in the chamber they control by a 221-212 margin, have rejected fiscal year 2024 spending levels reached by McCarthy and Biden in May.

Kozack declined to comment on the probable impact of a shutdown on the US economy and had no comment on the United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three Detroit manufacturers.