International records / Foreign Relations of the United States

242. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs ( Mulford ) to Secretary of the Treasury Baker

that government creditors have sanctioned write-offs of principal on commercial loans in the context of a multilateral forum. There are considerable risks of contamination to other debtors, even if only beginning with other African countries such as Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. We would expect Summit participants to agree at most to a general formulation on debt measures for the poorest countries. Details, including operational aspects, would then be taken up by a Paris Club working group meeting on July 11–12. RECOMMENDATION: 1) That we not agree to the introduction of debt cancellation in the …