19 November 2001

Treasury's O'Neill on Global Growth, Terrorism Financing

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says he is "very pleased" that the G-20 countries meeting in Ottawa, Canada, adopted an action plan outlining specific steps in their fight against terrorism financing.

In a November 17 statement he said that they committed to share information, freeze terrorist assets and publicize the list of terrorist subject to this action with details on blocked assets.

Members of the G-20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia��Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union -- plus the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.

In Ottawa, O'Neill said, the G-20, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the Development Committee have advanced the coordination of international efforts to fight terrorism financing.

He said that they have also agreed that each member country must take specific steps to support economic growth.

The IMFC is a policy-setting body of the International Monetary Fund. The Development Committee is a forum of the World Bank and the IMF that facilitates intergovernmental consensus-building on development issues.

O'Neill said that the fundamental strengths of the U.S. economy remain intact and it should show signs of recovery early next year.

Following is the text of the O'Neill's statement:

First let me thank the people of Canada for generously hosting this weekend's meeting. Joining the G-20 meetings with the IMFC and Development Committee meetings is an unusual circumstance, and a testament to the determination of the global community to move forward together in this critical time. We've had productive discussions advancing the coordination of the international community in pursuit of terrorist financing. We also agreed that each member nation must take concrete actions to strengthen the world economy.

The September 11th attacks have made clear the pressing need to eliminate the flow of funds that finance global terror. Every nation must act so there is no safe harbor, anywhere, for terrorist funds. I am very pleased that the G-20 nations adopted an Action Plan of specific steps in the fight against the financing of terrorism. We committed to share information, to freeze the assets of terrorists and to make public the lists of terrorist whose assets are subject to freezing and the amount of assets frozen. I also urged that the IMF expand its role in combating the financing of terrorism, as well as in the efforts to fight money laundering.

The world is now confronting a marked slowdown in the global economy. Promoting a strong global economy should be a paramount objective of every nation. Countries' policies must be adapted to the particular situation of each country. But the basic direction of all our policies should be to support growth. I found the informal bilateral meetings this weekend particularly useful on this topic.

The United States is doing its part. The U.S. economy began slowing in the summer of 2000. Prior to September 11, prospects for the resumption of strong growth were good, reflecting in large measure the tax rate cuts and rebates enacted this spring as well as the aggressive lowering of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. The terrorist attacks disrupted our recovery. I believe growth will be visible early next year. The Federal Reserve has taken timely action, and the Congress and the Administration are working together on an economic growth package. The fundamental strengths of the U.S. economy remain intact. The enactment of Trade Promotion Authority will help greatly by opening export opportunities.

Finally, this weekend we are continuing our concerted efforts to reform the IMF so that it becomes an organization more consistently associated with success. Improving the IMF's ability to monitor financial developments must continue to be a central focus.

We will emerge from this weekend's gathering with a common commitment for each of us to do what we need to do to support the resumption of growth and to cut off the financing of terrorism. Thank you.