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G20 nations agree to try to halve deficits
TORONTO, (UPI) -- The Group of 20 nations agreed Sunday to try to halve government deficits by 2013, create jobs, strengthen financial systems and foster global growth.
In a declaration at the close of the two-day economic summit in Toronto, the Group of 20 nations also called for stabilizing the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product by 2016.
The non-binding deficit-reduction target, the first by the G20, received the backing of European countries.
It came hours after U.S. President Barack Obama warned cutting spending too quickly could jeopardize worldwide recovery and suggested stimulus spending would reduce unemployment and spur investment.
Many countries disagreed more stimulus spending was the answer.
"The U.S. may be concentrated on premature fiscal tightening, but most other countries are looking with a nervous eye to the sovereign debt mess in Europe," Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard economist and former official at the International Monetary Fund, told The New York Times.
"Aiming for a gradually improving debt-to-GDP ratio by 2016 is hardly wild-eyed fiscal conservatism."
The declaration marked the first time the G20 has set dates for reduction of deficits, but most of the countries already had developed budgets within the targets.
Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Obama said, "Because a durable recovery must also include fiscal responsibility, we agreed to balance the need for continued growth in the short term and fiscal sustainability in the medium term."
The president said U.S. policies had helped revive the economy and presented a more upbeat global view than some other leaders.
"Globally, economic contraction has given way to economic growth," Obama said, citing rebounding trade and growth among emerging economies. "We have pulled ourselves back from the brink, and begun to move forward with economic recovery."
TORONTO, (UPI) -- The Group of 20 nations agreed Sunday to try to halve government deficits by 2013, create jobs, strengthen financial systems and foster global growth.
In a declaration at the close of the two-day economic summit in Toronto, the Group of 20 nations also called for stabilizing the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product by 2016.
The non-binding deficit-reduction target, the first by the G20, received the backing of European countries.
It came hours after U.S. President Barack Obama warned cutting spending too quickly could jeopardize worldwide recovery and suggested stimulus spending would reduce unemployment and spur investment.
Many countries disagreed more stimulus spending was the answer.
"The U.S. may be concentrated on premature fiscal tightening, but most other countries are looking with a nervous eye to the sovereign debt mess in Europe," Kenneth S. Rogoff, a Harvard economist and former official at the International Monetary Fund, told The New York Times.
"Aiming for a gradually improving debt-to-GDP ratio by 2016 is hardly wild-eyed fiscal conservatism."
The declaration marked the first time the G20 has set dates for reduction of deficits, but most of the countries already had developed budgets within the targets.
Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Obama said, "Because a durable recovery must also include fiscal responsibility, we agreed to balance the need for continued growth in the short term and fiscal sustainability in the medium term."
The president said U.S. policies had helped revive the economy and presented a more upbeat global view than some other leaders.
"Globally, economic contraction has given way to economic growth," Obama said, citing rebounding trade and growth among emerging economies. "We have pulled ourselves back from the brink, and begun to move forward with economic recovery."
