MEXICO CITY--Senior finance officials from the world's top economies meeting this weekend in Mexico City will continue to focus on the European crisis response, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official said Friday, downplaying calls by some in Europe that the U.S. fiscal situation should be the priority.
Officials from the Group of 20 leading economies are slated to meet over the weekend to discuss a range of challenges to global growth, including the ongoing euro-zone crisis, a slowdown in emerging-market economies, and the slow recovery of advanced economies such as the United States.
The meetings are not expected to produce many, if any, tangible plans; rather, it gives officials the opportunity to continue the talks that took place just a few weeks ago at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Tokyo.
The Treasury official said the U.S. expects the conversations and agenda to mirror that of the Tokyo talks, with an emphasis on Europe's response to the ongoing debt and banking crisis that has roiled the global economy the past several years.
"Recognizing that Europe remains the strongest headwind to global growth, there will be considerable interest among the G-20 on the European crisis response," the official said.
The U.S. stance could cause some consternation among European officials, who have sought to turn the focus of the meetings to the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff, a package of spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the beginning of next year unless policy makers act to avert their going into effect.
Economists have warned that the fiscal cliff could send the U.S. back into a recession, which in turn would likely reverberate globally.
The Treasury official acknowledged the fiscal cliff would be a topic for discussion, but dismissed the idea that U.S. issues should be at the center of the talks this weekend.
"The U.S. is growing faster than other large advanced economies," the official said. "U.S. banks are much better capitalized, more conservatively funded, and less leveraged."
In addition to Europe, the U.S. hopes to keep up pressure on emerging-market economies--particularly China--to rebalance their economies away from a reliance on exports.
Noting the slowdown in many emerging markets, the official said countries need to do more, including a willingness to embrace flexible exchange rates.
"Many countries in this category could do more to accelerate reforms that would strengthen domestic demand and on a sustainable basis," the official said, signaling out China specifically with regards to its exchange rate.
"China, for example, still has further to go in achieving a market oriented exchange rate."
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Officials from the Group of 20 leading economies are slated to meet over the weekend to discuss a range of challenges to global growth, including the ongoing euro-zone crisis, a slowdown in emerging-market economies, and the slow recovery of advanced economies such as the United States.
The meetings are not expected to produce many, if any, tangible plans; rather, it gives officials the opportunity to continue the talks that took place just a few weeks ago at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Tokyo.
The Treasury official said the U.S. expects the conversations and agenda to mirror that of the Tokyo talks, with an emphasis on Europe's response to the ongoing debt and banking crisis that has roiled the global economy the past several years.
"Recognizing that Europe remains the strongest headwind to global growth, there will be considerable interest among the G-20 on the European crisis response," the official said.
The U.S. stance could cause some consternation among European officials, who have sought to turn the focus of the meetings to the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff, a package of spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect at the beginning of next year unless policy makers act to avert their going into effect.
Economists have warned that the fiscal cliff could send the U.S. back into a recession, which in turn would likely reverberate globally.
The Treasury official acknowledged the fiscal cliff would be a topic for discussion, but dismissed the idea that U.S. issues should be at the center of the talks this weekend.
"The U.S. is growing faster than other large advanced economies," the official said. "U.S. banks are much better capitalized, more conservatively funded, and less leveraged."
In addition to Europe, the U.S. hopes to keep up pressure on emerging-market economies--particularly China--to rebalance their economies away from a reliance on exports.
Noting the slowdown in many emerging markets, the official said countries need to do more, including a willingness to embrace flexible exchange rates.
"Many countries in this category could do more to accelerate reforms that would strengthen domestic demand and on a sustainable basis," the official said, signaling out China specifically with regards to its exchange rate.
"China, for example, still has further to go in achieving a market oriented exchange rate."
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