The Treasury’s Outlook on the Global Economy

On March 22, 2019, SK Group and Beacon Global Strategies partnered with the Meridian Corporate Council to host a breakfast discussion with The Honorable Geoffrey Okamoto, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Meridian’s President and CEO, Ambassador Stuart Holiday, and Hon. Okamoto exchanged their views on the global economic outlook and the future of the American economy with guests around the table.

Sanctions in Russia, Korea and the U.K. are top of mind for Hon. Okamoto, who said the Congressional appetite for sanctions cannot be satiated. He added that more sanctions are likely to occur with Brexit looming, noting that the U.S. is preparing by tracking orderly operations of the EU financial market. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department is pushing for Congress to analyze the anticipated impacts of sanctions in order to determine their true value to the U.S. and global marketplace. 

Hon. Okamoto also projected exponential growth for intellectual property in the United States, especially in the technology sector. IP-intensive industries account for 38% of the U.S. GDP and have been responsible for the creation of approximately 27.9 million jobs. To ensure that foreign countries do not get access to U.S. intellectual property, Hon. Okamoto said the U.S. government is sharing just enough information with G7 countries to gain allied support while also staying ahead of the curve.

The breakfast discussion ended with a focus on the global debt, which Hon. Okamoto said is the biggest concern of the U.S. Treasury. He suggested that big government should focus on reallocating resources to boost economic productivity worldwide.

 

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