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Geithner acknowledges US fault in crisis
22 Apr 2009, 2240 hrs, REUTERS
WASHINGTON: The United States carries a "substantial" share of blame for the current economic crisis but the world must work together to ease the strains, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, Geithner said that in the face of the worst financial conditions in decades, it is essential to aim for a new and better balanced model for growth that relies less on exporting to U.S. consumer markets.
"We must set ourselves on a path so that one country, or group of countries, does not consume in excess while another set of countries produces in excess," he said.
Geithner spoke before meetings on Friday of finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich countries and a session of the Group of 20 that includes key emerging markets like China and India, which the Obama administration is urging to stimulate demand at home.
President Barack Obama similarly laid out a theme, after attending a G20 meeting in London earlier this month, that the United States can't be counted on as the market for the rest of the world's goods because U.S. consumers can't keep spending.
SPENDING CONTROL COMING
Geithner stressed that, while the United States is prepared to incur big budget deficits now to spur economic activity, it is vital to set out a path for getting spending under control over the medium term.
"That is very important to do, because the American people and investors (around the world) need to understand that we will have the will and the commitment as a country to go back to point that we are living within our means," Geithner said.
"To get to that point we have to get a recovery in place," he added.
22 Apr 2009, 2240 hrs, REUTERS
WASHINGTON: The United States carries a "substantial" share of blame for the current economic crisis but the world must work together to ease the strains, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday.
Speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, Geithner said that in the face of the worst financial conditions in decades, it is essential to aim for a new and better balanced model for growth that relies less on exporting to U.S. consumer markets.
"We must set ourselves on a path so that one country, or group of countries, does not consume in excess while another set of countries produces in excess," he said.
Geithner spoke before meetings on Friday of finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich countries and a session of the Group of 20 that includes key emerging markets like China and India, which the Obama administration is urging to stimulate demand at home.
President Barack Obama similarly laid out a theme, after attending a G20 meeting in London earlier this month, that the United States can't be counted on as the market for the rest of the world's goods because U.S. consumers can't keep spending.
SPENDING CONTROL COMING
Geithner stressed that, while the United States is prepared to incur big budget deficits now to spur economic activity, it is vital to set out a path for getting spending under control over the medium term.
"That is very important to do, because the American people and investors (around the world) need to understand that we will have the will and the commitment as a country to go back to point that we are living within our means," Geithner said.
"To get to that point we have to get a recovery in place," he added.
