British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today called for a co-ordinated global 'fiscal stimulus' amid reports that his government will soon announce tax cuts to boost the flagging economy.
Speaking days before a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Washington, he said that concerted action by world leaders would be far more effective than if individual countries were to try and address the problems alone.
'If we have a fiscal stimulus in Britain and it is not repeated in other countries, then it will have far less effect and far less benefit than if it were done in every other major economy around the world,' he said at his monthly Downing Street press conference today.
'One initiative here and there is not going to make the difference. What you need is a co-ordinated strategy and preferably a co-ordinated strategy across the world and not just in one country,' he said.
Brown's government is reportedly set to announce tax cuts in its pre-budget report expected later this month. He is expected to borrow to fund the move, and said today that a fiscal stimulus 'means that you are prepared to add to borrowing in conditions where you have low national debt to enable the economy to move forward.'
Brown is likely to repeat his call for concerted economic action at the G20 summit in Washington on Saturday.
The G20 includes the seven major industrialised nations - Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and the US - plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.
It also takes in the 27-nation European Union, represented by France, which holds the rotating EU presidency. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank also participate in its meetings.
