Pitch "Prolonged US Presidential Debate Negatively Impacts National Credit Rating"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] The international credit rating agency Fitch has warned that prolonged turmoil surrounding the U.S. presidential election could have a negative impact on the country's credit rating. Currently, the U.S. credit rating holds the highest grade, 'Triple A (AAA).' Except for once in 2011, it has never been downgraded.

On the 13th (local time), U.S. media outlets including CNN reported that Fitch, in a report released on the 12th, stated, "the current U.S. 'AAA' rating broadly reflects accepted power transfer procedures," and added, "any deviation from this would be viewed negatively."

Fitch noted that the U.S. presidential election scheduled for November 3rd this year is expected to take longer than usual to finalize results due to increased mail-in voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They forecast that uncertainty regarding the winner's determination could continue for several weeks after the election. Furthermore, Fitch said it would monitor whether an orderly transfer or continuation of power occurs when the next president is inaugurated on January 21st of next year.

While the disputes over the 2000 presidential election results did not undermine investor confidence, Fitch pointed out that concerns are raised this time due to political polarization, which could also affect the policies of the next administration. In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, where Republican candidate George W. Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore competed, disputes over the election results occurred, but the Supreme Court ruling in December of that year effectively favored Bush, leading Gore to concede and the situation to conclude without major turmoil.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump, facing declining approval ratings recently, has repeatedly hinted at the possibility of rejecting the election results by raising allegations of fraud related to the expansion of mail-in voting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.