Iraq: Iraq Passes Bill to Unlock Funds for Cash-Strapped State

Jun 24, 2020 | Samya Kullab, Associated Press
View Original

Iraqi lawmakers Wednesday passed a crucial bill allowing the country to finance a widening fiscal deficit amid an unprecedented economic crisis spurred by falling oil prices and the pandemic. Iraq depends on oil exports to fund the lion's share of it's state expenditures, including a bloated public wage bill. But month-to-month earnings have been half of what the government had projected to fund the 2020 budget as oil prices hover between $20-$30.