Seoul – On the eve of meetings between global leaders, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said, on Wednesday (10), in Seoul, South Korea, that there are negative reactions to the decision of the government of the United States to buy US$ 600 billion in Treasury bills in an attempt to contain the depreciation of the US currency.
To Mantega, there should be a reform in the global financial system for the economy not to be based just on the dollar. Mantega said that, to avoid potential crises in the United States affecting the rest of the world, it would be ideal to define a new order in the International financial system, starting with the multicurrency.
As an example, the minister mentioned special drawing rights, which are based on four independent currencies– the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling and U.S. dollar.
To Mantega, negative reactions of several countries, mainly developing nations, to the North American decision should push US president Barack Obama to make changes.
According to the minister, the final document of the G20 Summit – which brings together the main global economies – should include a warning of part of the international community to the threat of an imbalance in the global economy due to isolated measures taken by some governments. The text should be disclosed on Friday (12).
The warning, according to Mantega, is also valid for China, Japan and Germany, which have adopted internal measures to try to save exports, affecting the global market. "[In the document,] there should be references to macroeconomic possibilities for countries that suffer interference in manipulation of exchange rates," he said.
According to the minister, the divergence between members of the G20 is currently no greater than others registered in previous talks. “We tried to reach an understanding, but imagine 20 [governments of] countries looking at each comma and detail, it is not easy."
Mantega recalled that the current difficulties are worsened by obstacles lived by countries that have not managed to overcome the effects of the global financial crisis. "There is divergence and internal difference, as is the case in the United States, as president [Barack] Obama finds it hard to make internal economic reforms, for example," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
