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Brown pre-G20 tour reaches Brazil Brown pushes $100bn global fund
(about 6 hours later)
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has arrived in Brazil, as he continues efforts to forge a consensus on action to tackle the global economic crisis. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for a $100bn (£69bn) global fund to underwrite world trade as his pre-G20 summit tour continues in Brazil.
The UK leader is on a three-continent trip round major economies ahead of the G20 summit in London next week. Mr Brown is on a three-continent trip ahead of next week's London summit.
He is due to hold talks with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He was speaking after holding talks with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Earlier in New York Mr Brown urged leaders to "take action" at the G20 to reform the banking system, protect jobs and help the world's poorest countries. Brazil's exports fell 25% in the past three months and the PM, who will also meet ex-football hero Socrates, urged the World Bank to provide trade credit.
Following talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mr Brown said that at the G20 summit in London "doing nothing is no longer an option". Trade finance
The London summit must ensure "strong growth and recovery", he said. In a joint statement, the two leaders called for measures to boost global economic demand and for action to protect emerging market economies from financial volatility.
G20 LONDON SUMMIT World leaders will meet next week in London to discuss measures to tackle the downturn. See class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2009/g20/default.stm"> our in-depth guide to the G20 summit.The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU. class="" href="/1/hi/business/7921385.stm"> Q&A: G20 Summit class="" href="/1/hi/business/7963704.stm"> What Brazil wants from G20 Mr Brown argued that the credit crunch has led to a collapse in world trade, affecting economies of all sizes, and that support was needed to help rebuild it.
He added that there must be help for the poorest countries, saying that the global downturn had pushed 100 million people into poverty. G20 LONDON SUMMIT World leaders will meet next week in London to discuss measures to tackle the downturn. See class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2009/g20/default.stm"> our in-depth guide to the G20 summit.The G20 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US and the EU. class="" href="/1/hi/business/7921385.stm"> Q&A: G20 Summit class="" href="/1/hi/business/7963704.stm"> What Brazil wants from G20 class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2009/03/brazils_place_a.html"> Nick Robinson's blog
The Brazil leg of the trip will also include talks with business leaders. The final part of the tour will be in Chile. In particular, he said levels of trade credit - which exporters and importer use to settle accounts - must be increased.
Mr Brown believes no conversation about the global economy is possible without including the world's ninth largest economy, said BBC political editor Nick Robinson. "I am going to ask the G20 summit next week to support a global expansion of trade finance of at least $100bn to help revive trade in all parts of the world," he said, while giving no specific details.
On his first visit to Brazil, the PM will argue the country deserves a more prominent place at the global economic top table, said our correspondent. The prime minister also urged countries not to resort to protectionism and backed a new system to publicly highlight countries who bring in trade barriers.
Like other developing countries, Brazil's trade has collapsed in recent months as the credit which underwrites it has disappeared. The Brazil leg of Mr Brown's trip will also include talks with business leaders. The final part of the tour will be in Chile.
Mr Brown will argue that the G20 can and should restore that credit and get trade moving again - one of the ways he believes the global economy can be revived. Russian dialogue
Expand trade It also emerged that Mr Brown had spoken to Russian president Dmitriy Medvedev about the forthcoming G20 meeting.
Amid talk of rifts between nations and continents over the best way to handle the crisis, Mr Brown has insisted there was "far more agreement" among world leaders than was being portrayed. The Kremlin said the two leaders had had a "constructive dialogue" about the summit and proposed reforms to institutions like the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund has urged countries not to jeopardise prospects for economic recovery next year by withdrawing their fiscal stimulus measures too soon. "Gordon Brown noted the harmony of the British and Russian positions on the majority of aspects of the preparation for the G20 summit," it said in a statement.
One agreement Mr Brown hoped for would be to bring in a system for highlighting publicly any instance of a country putting in place protectionist measures, which he said were the "greatest danger we face". But the Brazilian president warned the London summit must agree some concrete measures or the crisis would "deepen".
He hoped leaders would agree a way to expand trade, which has been falling. "If the G20 becomes a meeting just to set another meeting, we will be discredited," he said.
"I believe that now, for the first time, global leaders recognise the need to co-operate," Mr Brown said. On his first visit to Brazil, Mr Brown is arguing it deserves a more prominent place at the global economic top table.
Some progress had already been made on getting tax havens to agree to share tax information on request and there had already been "the biggest fiscal stimulus in history" and big interest rate cuts, he said. Like other developing countries, Brazil's trade has been severely affected in recent months as the credit which underwrites it has disappeared and the PM says the G20 should restore that credit.
President Lula has also warned against protectionism 'Decisive steps'
Asked whether there was a split between Europe's focus on strengthening regulation and the US concentration on a stimulus, he said both were important. Mr Brown has urged leaders to "take action" at the G20 to reform the banking system, protect jobs and help the world's poorest countries, saying "doing nothing is no longer an option".
Every country had its own timetable for announcing its fiscal and monetary policies - that was a matter for individual governments, he said. Business secretary Lord Mandelson - who is travelling with the prime minister - said the G20 summit cannot be expected to "transform" the global economic situation overnight.
He has also been playing down comments made by Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King, that the government should be cautious about a further fiscal stimulus, given the high levels of UK debt. But in a speech in Sao Paulo, he said he expected world leaders to take "decisive steps" in London to boost confidence, focusing on credit, bank regulation and stimulating economic demand.
Mr Brown has been pressing the case for wealthy countries to bring forward big fiscal stimulus packages to refloat the economy. Gordon Brown will conclude his trip in Chile
And Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown, closely involved in preparations for the summit, said the G20 must signal to the public it is taking clear action in key areas.
"We can't again engage in meaningless, empty commitments which don't survive the flight home," he told Associated Press.
He added: "Incumbency is hell nowadays, just about every government is struggling with terrible opinion polls and very angry people."
Amid talk of rifts between nations over the best way to handle the crisis, the UK has insisted there is "far more agreement" among world leaders than is being portrayed.
Progress has been made, Mr Brown says, on getting tax havens to agree to share tax information while there had already been "the biggest fiscal stimulus in history" and big interest rate cuts.
He has said every country has its own timetable for announcing its fiscal and monetary policies and that this must remain a matter for individual governments.
He has played down comments made by Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King, that the government should be cautious about a further fiscal stimulus, given the high levels of UK debt.
US President Barack Obama has said he wants a "robust" and "sustained" fiscal stimulus and has said all countries must share the burden of rescuing the global economy.US President Barack Obama has said he wants a "robust" and "sustained" fiscal stimulus and has said all countries must share the burden of rescuing the global economy.
However Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who lost a "no confidence" vote in his own parliament on Tuesday, has suggested the US recovery plans were the "way to hell".