On the other hand
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The report said that the global recovery may have reached its zenith, with the world's economy growing by 4 percent in 2004, compared with 2.8 percent in 2003. The report estimated that the global economy will grow by 3.25 percent this year.
U.N. Report Calls for Help to Ease U.S. Budget and Trade Deficits
By ELIZABETH BECKER
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 - The United Nations on Tuesday urged all the major industrial countries, especially Japan and the nations of Europe, to help the United States reduce its deficits by spurring their own economies to grow faster.
In a report, "World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005," the United Nations said that the budget and trade deficits of the United States were putting the global economy off balance.
It echoed warnings by the International Monetary Fund and other financial institutions in saying the United States cannot continue to carry its huge debts.
"What we really need is a major advancement in cooperation among the advanced economies to help the U.S. get out of this problem," said José Antonio Ocampo, the under secretary general for economic and social affairs at the United Nations, in an interview.
The United States deficit is a global problem in part because the country has the fastest-growing economy among industrial nations and, together with China, is largely responsible for helping to pull the world economy out of the doldrums. But whereas China has been an economic engine with its huge growth in manufacturing and exports, the United States has pushed growth by consuming far more goods than it exports.
