Emerging markets must do homework, says German minister
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Emerging markets should get their own houses in order before demanding solidarity from other nations, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.
The troubles in emerging markets would be the main topic discussed by finance ministers and central bank chiefs at the G20 summit in Sydney this weekend, Schaeuble told CNBC in an interview broadcast on Friday.
Stock, bond and currency markets in developing countries have convulsed in recent months, hit by concerns over weaker economic growth and the winding down of stimulus in the United States.
Emerging nations want the U.S. Federal Reserve to calibrate its winding down of stimulus so as to mitigate the impact on their economies, but industrialised nations have responded that the troubles in the emerging world are mostly home-grown.
"In my opinion we must always strive towards an approach of solidarity. Everyone must first of all do their own homework and then countries can demand solidarity from others," Schaeuble said.
In late January, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the United States should be mindful of the impact of its policies on the rest of the world.
When questioned on those comments, Schaeuble said that there were sufficient internal problems in India that were not caused by the monetary policy of other countries.
Schaeuble said emerging countries must ensure they carried out structural reforms and did not rely only on monetary policy.
"We've had the problem recently in Europe and have always used the tool of monetary policy to gain some time, but this should not be misused to avoid solving the problems," he said.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Victoria Bryan; Editing by Stephen Brown)
