(OSV News) – In a world economy rocked by the whiplash of American trade tariffs that has spared few countries, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA Network, an interfaith development group, have a proposition for President Donald J. Trump: Forgive some debts.
In a joint letter dated April 8, the two organizations wrote Trump, encouraging him to build on global debt relief efforts from his first term.
According to the United Nations, the external debt — money owed to foreign creditors — of developing countries has quadrupled in two decades to a record $11.4 trillion in 2023, equivalent to 99% of their export earnings.
“Debt relief and restructuring make effective economic and security policy, strengthening our…
