IMF/TRUMP FAMILY/IVANKA/WORLD BANK/WOMEN: “A billion-dollar World Bank initiative to advance women’s entrepreneurship, funded in part by Saudi Arabia and championed by Ivanka Trump, might seem a laughably easy target for reproach.
There is Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women — they aren’t even allowed to drive alone — and the growing role of the ‘first daughter’ as a presidential adviser. Then there are President Trump’s misogynistic comments.
But despite the concerns around governance and ethics, the so-called Ivanka fund might be a sign that — despite its ‘America First’ policy — the White House is not as combative toward multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as many in Washington expected…
The future of both Bretton Woods institutions has been looking particularly dim with Mr. Trump’s anti-globalization rhetoric. He has signed an executive order to roll back American involvement in international institutions and proposed a budget that would slash $650 million in funding to multilateral development banks over three years. A House bill, proposed by the Appropriations Committee and expected to change significantly through the legislative process, suggests far deeper cuts.
Born from a decades-old tussle between John Maynard Keynes of Britain and Harry Dexter White of the United States, the Washington-based organizations are seen as a tool of soft power for the United States.”
-Avantika Chilkoti, “With World Bank Initiative, a Change in Tone for Trump Administration,” The New York Times online, July 19, 2017