US: Treasury chief calls French finance minister

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called French finance minister Bruno Le Maire to discuss priorities, ending the coronavirus pandemic, supporting a strong global economic recovery, fighting income inequality and addressing climate change, the American agency said Thursday.

She committed to re-engaging actively in ongoing discussions in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on international taxation to forge a timely international accord, the US said in a statement.

Yellen also discussed the importance of cooperating closely to advance bilateral and multilateral economic issues and to deepen the American-French and transatlantic partnerships.

Due to coronavirus-related lockdowns, the US economy, the world's largest, contracted 3.5% in 2020, marking its worst annual decline since 1946, according to Commerce Department.

France, the eurozone's second-largest economy, was estimated to shrink 11% in 2020, Le Maire said in October, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts it may have contracted 9%.

Depending on the scope and duration of a third lockdown, the French economy could shrink 10% - 18% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to a Ministry of Finance study in Le Parisien.