CEMAC Act

This bill would have the United States withhold its support at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for countries in Central Africa’s CEMAC region until the IMF publicly says that oil-and-gas site cleanup funds held by the regional central bank cannot be counted as a country’s foreign exchange reserves. The goal is to keep cleanup money from being treated like national savings and to reduce pressure on companies to move those funds into the regional bank.

It responds to a planned rule by the Central African regional bank (BEAC) that would force companies to bring restoration funds into the bank, with a deadline of April 30, 2025 and steep penalties after that. The bill says these funds don’t meet the IMF’s own test for reserves (they must be readily available and under the control of a country’s monetary authorities) and warns the rule could scare off investment and cut government revenue by about $86 billion and capital investment by about $45 billion by 2050.

• Who is affected: The U.S. at the IMF, CEMAC countries, the regional central bank (BEAC), and oil and gas companies operating in the region.
• What changes: Until the IMF makes the public clarification, the U.S. would not approve any IMF action related to a CEMAC country and would vote against increasing their IMF quotas or changing certain IMF loan rules (the exceptional access policy). After the IMF clarifies this, the Treasury must publish the decision and send a report; if no decision within 180 days of enactment, a report is still required.
• When: The limits stay in place until the IMF issues the public clarification described above.