Despite days and nights of discussions, the Democratic leader's teams and Republican negotiators have not yet found a budget compromise.

From June 1, the United States could therefore find itself in default, that is to say unable to honor its financial commitments, whether salaries, pensions, or repayments to its creditors.

Cuts

Like almost all major economies, the United States lives on credit. But, it is an American peculiarity, it is the prerogative of Congress to vote to raise the maximum amount of public debt that the world's largest economy is allowed to accumulate, currently set at some 31 trillion dollars.

The Republicans refuse this time to raise this famous "ceiling" without conditions, demanding drastic budget cuts before giving their green light. The Democrats refuse. And each side blames the other for this situation.

The main Republican protagonist in this case, Kevin McCarthy, uses and abuses an allegory comparing the Democrats to that of a child blithely exceeding the limit of his credit card. "After a while, do you continue like this or do you try to change his behavior?" he asks the press very regularly.

The US president had initially simply ruled out discussing under the threat of bankruptcy.

He finally made his Republican opponent Kevin McCarthy, boss of the House of Representatives, several proposals to lighten the bill of the federal state, without it being enough.

"Made from scratch"

A singular atmosphere reigns in Washington: a few days before a potentially catastrophic default, most observers seem confident, certain that an agreement will be reached.

In the absence of a major breakthrough in the negotiations, the elected members of Congress have left the American capital in the run-up to the long holiday weekend of "Memorial Day".

The head of the House of Representatives, however, demanded that they be willing to return to Washington urgently if an agreement were to be reached in their absence.

It is indeed very common for last-minute compromises to be reached on this type of dossier.

This did not prevent the economic world from showing its first signs of trembling. The rating agency Fitch issued a warning Wednesday placing "under surveillance" the AAA rating of the United States.

The US Treasury on Thursday denounced a "fabricated crisis", castigating the refusal of conservatives in Congress to vote to raise the debt ceiling, a maneuver essential to avoid bankruptcy.

This unprecedented situation would have potentially catastrophic consequences for the US and global economy.

For the first time, holders of US Treasuries, the king investment of global finance, would no longer be able to recover their stake.

© 2023 AFP