Fitch Ratings Agency announced on Wednesday that it has placed the AAA credit rating of the United States under surveillance in preparation for a possible downgrade due to the risk of Washington defaulting on its debts if the US public debt ceiling is not raised.
And the agency said in a statement that its decision “reflects the growing political tensions that impede resolving the problem by raising the ceiling of the public debt or suspending work with it, at a time when the deadline” for the US public debt to reach the ceiling set by law is fast approaching.
Congress must raise the public debt ceiling as soon as possible or suspend it to avoid falling for the United States, for the first time in its history.
According to the US Treasury Department, the public debt can reach its legal limit within nine days, no more.
The US public debt ceiling is currently $31 billion.
In its statement, Fitch confirmed that it “expects” the right decision on the part of the United States at the appropriate time, but nevertheless experts believe that there is “a high risk that the debt ceiling will not be raised or suspended in a timely manner, and that the government will start to fail to make some payments.”
Fitch warned that “failing to reach an agreement … would be a negative sign of governance in general and the desire of the US to meet its commitments on time.”
And the agency confirmed that it would closely monitor developments in the status of the US public debt ceiling, noting that if the United States did not pay debts due on June 1 or 2, it would be considered in default, and subsequent debts that would be due within 30 days would become “extremely risky.” Which means that the degree of these debts will become “CCC”.
As for the rest of the debt, Fitch said that its rating will remain unchanged, as the United States has the largest reserves of funds in the world.
