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This Week in COVID-19 and Economic Diplomacy: ‘Eurozone Fiscal Deficit Nears €1T’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020.

Our weekly COVID-19 and Economic Diplomacy tracker looks at policies that impact the coordination of international governments and central banks, ongoing commentary and analysis, and asks what these turbulent times mean for economic diplomacy. 

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The Highlights 

  • The U.S. Treasury has only allocated $195B of an earned $454B of Fed backed loan programs.
     
  • Eurozone governments will rack up €976B in fiscal deficits, equal to 8.9% of GDP this year. 
     
  • The Chinese economy grew 4.9% in the third quarter and is on track to grow 2% by the end of this year. It will be the only major economy to grow this year.

Global Developments

U.S. Developments

European Developments

Emerging Markets

  • The Chinese economy expanded 4.9% in the third quarter with industrial growth powering its economic recovery. Though GDP expansion fell short of expectations, it was well ahead of the 3.2% increase in the second quarter. The state-backed industrial boom has led to industrial production increasing 6.9% in September, which is the same rate as in December before the virus outbreak. Retail sales rose 3.3% last month, their best performance this year. According to Eswar Prasad of Cornell University, “China is likely to be the sole major economy in the world to register positive growth this year.” China’s central bank governor estimated that the Chinese government will likely grow 2% this year.

Odds and Ends

 

Recommended citation

Suh, Hannah. “This Week in COVID-19 and Economic Diplomacy: ‘Eurozone Fiscal Deficit Nears €1T’.” October 22, 2020