The discussions are likely to be tense. Joe Biden receives Tuesday tenors of the Republican opposition, without much hope however to resolve a conflict over the public debt, which could, in the worst case, drive the United States into bankruptcy. The US president invited representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties to the House of Representatives and the Senate at 16 p.m. local time.

The US president is seeking an agreement to raise the "debt ceiling", a legislative maneuver essential so that the world's largest economy can continue to pay its bills, its officials and its creditors. "Clearly, the gap is huge between the position of the president and that of the Republicans," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned soberly Monday.

Deep disagreement

"The Republicans of the House [of representatives] are fabricating a crisis from scratch," lashed the same day the spokeswoman of the White House Karine Jean-Pierre, calling on them to raise "without conditions" this famous debt ceiling.

Out of the question for the Republicans, who condition their agreement to budget cuts. "We will not vote for a text that increases the debt ceiling without substantial reforms of the budget and public spending," said this weekend about forty conservative senators.

To remove the threat of a default, which would be unprecedented, Joe Biden needs to convince some of the Republican senators, for lack of a sufficient majority in the upper chamber. Above all, he must find common ground with the speaker of the House of Representatives, who passed under the Republican flag last January: Kevin McCarthy, the most prominent guest at Tuesday's meeting. The Democratic president and the Republican leader are playing big: the credibility of the world's heaviest debt, but also their political credit.

Risk of a historic recession

The debt ceiling so far is set at $31 trillion – the record for all sovereign debt in the world in absolute terms. This amount was reached in mid-January, but the federal government has so far managed the situation through accounting manoeuvres.

If the impasse continues after June 1, according to the administration, the United States would not only be unable to pay bills and wages, but also to repay its creditors. For the first time, holders of US Treasuries, the king investment of global finance, would no longer be able to recover their stake.

Then, the White House assures him, finished the robust recovery for which the American president takes credit: the markets would collapse, the recession would be historic and unemployment would soar sharply in the United States - with consequences for the entire world economy.

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