Harper
sets out deficit cut target for G20: Obama worries about double dip
(G20-Obama-Harper)
By
Heather Scoffield and Julian Beltrame
THE
CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA
_ Prime Minister Harper says he wants G20 countries to
sign
on to ambitious targets for reducing deficits and national debt
at
next week's summit in Toronto.
In
a letter sent Thursday night, **>Stephen Harper<** says he wants
advanced
countries in the G20 to halve their deficits by 2013.
And
he wants them to stabilize debt to gross domestic product, or
put
ratios on downward path, by 2016.
The
letter says the targets are meant as a minimum requirement
and
that some countries, if they can, should move faster.
A
government official says Canada will easily be able to meet the
targets,
but many believe the United States, Japan and some European
nations
with mounting debts, will face a stiffer challenge.
Harper
notes that to combat the 2008-2009 recession, most
governments
spent massively to stimulate their economies.
``It
worked, but we are not out of the woods yet,'' he wrote,
urging
governments to continue to implement previously announced
stimulus.
``At
the same time,'' he adds, ``advanced countries must send a
clear
message that as their stimulus plans expire they will focus on
getting
their fiscal houses in order. This requires credible plans
for
fiscal consolidation to dispel the uncertainty and financial
volatility
that can impair future growth prospects.''
Harper's
message to the G20 differs in emphasis from one sent out
by
U.S. President Barack Obama at about the same time, where Obama
warns
about the dangers of a double-dip recession.
Both
leaders implore the G20 members coming next week to a summit
in
Toronto to ``safeguard'' the fragile economic recovery, and avoid
sending
the world back into a recessionary tailspin.
But
while they share the same pre-occupation, they differ subtly
in
where they see the biggest risks for recovery.
Obama
emphasizes the need to keep stimulus measures in place for
as
long as necessary, to get people back to work.
``Our
highest priority in Toronto must be to safeguard and
strengthen
the recovery,'' Obama says in his letter, dated June 16
but
released publicly on Friday morning.
``This
means that we should reaffirm our unity of purpose to
provide
the policy support necessary to keep economic growth
strong.''
In
other words, Obama does not want other countries to cut their
stimulus
packages before the giant U.S. economy has a solid chance
to
regain its momentum. And if necessary, more stimulus should be at
the
ready.
``In
fact, should confidence in the strength of our recoveries
diminish,
we should be prepared to respond again as quickly and as
forcefully
as needed to avert a slowdown in economic activity,'' he
writes.
Harper's
letter makes no mention of the possibility governments
may
again have to dip into their treasuries to support their
economies,
although it too stresses that all nations are not in the
same
boat.
