World Breathes Sigh Of Relief As Trump Spares Fed, IMF

Global policymakers breathed a collective sigh of relief in Washington this week, reassured that the U.S.-centric economic order was not unraveling despite President Donald Trump’s nationalist approach, Francesco Canepa, Jan Strupczewski, and Leika Kihara reported for Reuters.

Relief came as Trump scaled back his criticisms and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized reshaping rather than abandoning the IMF and World Bank. I Photo: International Monetary Fund Facebook

The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank were dominated by trade discussions and tentative signs of de-escalation between the U.S. and China.

Yet lingering anxieties about Trump’s attacks on international institutions — and his past threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — shadowed the events.

Relief came as Trump scaled back his criticisms and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized reshaping rather than abandoning the IMF and World Bank.

As Maria Martinez and Karin Strohecker also noted for Reuters, many policymakers interpreted these moves as a sign that the U.S. remains committed to the international financial system it helped establish at Bretton Woods in 1944.