JUDY WOODRUFF: The fiscal and
monetary policies implemented
by the U.S. government in the
past year, along with the
falling numbers of new COVID
cases, should pave the way for
a robust U.S. economic recovery,
although real challenges
remain. That was the general
conclusion of an annual report
released today by the International
Monetary Fund. It projects
that the U.S. economy will grow
roughly 7 percent this year,
as federal stimulus programs
fuel consumer spending. But that
growth raises the risk of inflation.
The report also emphasizes
that the pandemic itself remains
the greatest threat to any
nation and urges the U.S. to
help other countries cope with
the health crisis. Kristalina
Georgieva is managing director
of the International Monetary
Fund and joins me now. Director
Georgieva, it's so good to
have you with us again. I
want to ask you about those
economic projections, but let's
start with COVID and the effect it has had
on the world. You and the IMF are calling
this week for countries
that can afford to do so to
particularly help the countries on
the African continent, sub-Saharan Africa,
with more doses of the COVID vaccine. Why
is this important, and do you
expect to get the help you need?
KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, Managing
Director, International Monetary Fund: It
is very important for everyone everywhere.
Why? Because what we are facing
in the world is a two-track
vaccination path that leads
to two-track economic recovery.
In the United States, vaccinations
have exceeded 50 percent.
In many other advanced economies, they are
going up in the territory that allows the
economies to fully reopen, whereas,
in many developing countries,
and especially in low-income
countries, vaccination rates are extremely
low. In Africa, less than 1 percent of the
adult population is fully vaccinated, and
yet we see the new Delta variant causing a
third, very rapidly going-up
wave of infections in Africa.
The impact of this is twofold.
One, it is holding the recovery
of the world economy back
and, of course, harming people
tremendously. We calculate that,
if we accelerate vaccinations,
if we vaccinate the world to
40 percent this year, 60 percent
by the middle of next year,
we will gain $9 trillion in
output between now and 2025.
And 40 percent of this gain
will be for advanced economies
because of this rapid recovery
of the world. And, two,
because, when we don't vaccinate
people, we leave patches as
fertile ground for new mutations
that are ricocheting back
in the developed world. JUDY
WOODRUFF: Right. And what I want
to ask, is the United States,
as you know, has already pledged
to give 500 million doses or
more to, what, over 100 of
the world's poorest countries.
How much more are you asking
the U.S. to do? KRISTALINA
GEORGIEVA: So far, we have
gotten about a billion doses
pledged to increase vaccinations
in developing countries. But
we are still - - we are still
significantly short. We need
11 billion doses for the world.
And we need, next year, to
get to an excess production
of vaccines, so we vaccinate
those who need it, and we
secure boosters if that becomes
necessary. So, to answer your
question, U.S. is doing a very
good job leading the world
with offering additional
vaccines, but we need more. JUDY
WOODRUFF: And it's a subject,
I know, that so many people
know is important and could
pursue. But I also want to talk
to you about the economy
and the bounce-back from the
pandemic. As I reported a moment
ago, you, the IMF today,
projecting the U.S. economy will
grow 7 percent, a remarkable
rate of growth, this year. What
does that mean for the world?
We know the entire global
economy took a big hit from this pandemic.
What does this -- this improvement here in
the United States going to mean
for the whole world? KRISTALINA
GEORGIEVA: Let me first
recognize the two foundations
for this strong growth, the
stimulus that was put in place
to inject money in the hands of
people and support businesses
and the accelerated vaccination
push that the U.S. has been
pursuing over the last months.
They both lead to this remarkable
recovery that will deliver the
highest growth rate in the United
States since 1984, a generation
ago. What does it mean for the rest of the
world? Primarily good news, because higher
growth in the United States
means that the United States
is going to be demanding more
goods from other nations and
is, in that way, exporting some
of this growth momentum. This
is why our message is very
simple, vaccine policy this year,
next year is economic policy.
Let's vaccinate the whole world.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, in a few
words, Director Georgieva, what
should Americans, what should
the United States be doing in
the year, the next year, a couple
of years to come to see the
world move forward in total,
together, in a positive direction?
KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA: Well,
first and foremost, the United
States ought to continue to build
its competitiveness and the
vibrancy of its economy, because,
as the largest economy in
the world, when the U.S.
does well, that is good for
everybody. And, in this sense, we
very warmly welcome the two plans that are
now under consideration, the Jobs and the
Families plans. They are going
to inject more productivity,
higher labor market participation
in the U.S. that would boost between 2022
and 2024 growth in U.S. by 5.25 percentage
points. And it will also take care of the
people in the United States that have been
hit the hardest by this pandemic.
We mean Black and Hispanic
communities. So, that action
in U.S. is beneficial for
the world directly and also
indirectly, as a leadership as to
how tax policy and spending
policy can lead to a more
vibrant and fair economy in the
future. JUDY WOODRUFF: A
number of policies of this
administration. Kristalina Georgieva,
the managing director of the
International Monetary Fund,
thank you very much. KRISTALINA
GEORGIEVA: Thank you.