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Mexico Official Urges Economic Balance
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, Oct. 27, 2003
MORELIA, Mexico -- The global economy is too dependent on growth from the United States, Mexico's treasury secretary said Sunday, calling on finance officials from 20 rich and poor nations to look for a "more balanced and sustainable growth path."
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow also attended the meeting and sought donations from the 19 other countries to help rebuild post-war Iraq.

Opening the annual meeting of the Group of 20 nations, Mexican Treasury Secretary Francisco Gil Diaz said the two-day event was aimed at finding ways to help the world economy fully recover. He said the dependence on the U.S. economy was one of several "vulnerabilities that should be overcome with the appropriate policies and measures."

Finance ministers were also scheduled to discuss ways to block funding for terrorists during their meeting in Morelia, 130 miles west of Mexico City.

In brief remarks broadcast to journalists, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy had been greatly influenced by the war in Iraq, including a spike in oil prices. He said the economy had come to a virtual standstill in February, before the war. The broadcast of the rest of his speech was cut off and unavailable to journalists.

Gil Diaz said ministers would review progress they had made in combatting terrorist funding. He also urged nations to continue efforts at sharing intelligence on terrorists.

"The circle will never be closed for criminals if international information sharing is not strengthened," he said.

Private Meetings

On Sunday, Snow held private meetings with officials from Germany, China, Argentina, Russia, and had more meetings planned with representatives from Mexico, China, Turkey, South Africa and France.

Snow arrived from Madrid, Spain, where he helped persuade nations to pledge $13 billion in new aid to help rebuild Iraq. Still, the figure fell well short of the estimated $56 billion it will cost to restore Iraq to pre-1991 Gulf War conditions, and much of the aid was loans that could saddle Iraq with new debt.

He also was expected to urge Chinese officials to move more quickly to adopt a more flexible currency system. U.S. manufacturers complain that China's currency is undervalued, keeping exports unfairly cheap.

Last month's failed World Trade Organization talks in Cancun aren't on the meeting's official agenda, but ministers are still expected to talk on the sidelines of the G20 about ways to get negotiations back on track. Many of the countries represented in Morelia were key players during the WTO meeting.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez ended the Cancun talks, saying the WTO's 146 member nations had too many differences to reach an agreement on cutting agricultural and other subsidies.

Last year, during a meeting in New Delhi, the G20 agreed to phase out subsidies, knock down trade barriers, and eliminate money for terrorists.

The group is made up of the European Union and 19 countries -- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain and the United States. Their economies account for about 80 percent of global income, and the nations comprise more than 60 percent of the world's population.