G20 reiterate commitments to using all policy tools for growth

WASHINGTON -- Finance leaders from the Group of 20 leading economies on Friday reiterated their commitments to using all policy tools, including monetary, fiscal and structural instruments, to foster confidence and strengthen growth.

"Downside risks and uncertainties to the global outlook persist against the backdrop of continued financial volatility, challenges faced by commodity exporters and low inflation," said the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in a communique issued Friday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for global growth in 2016 down to 3.2 percent, saying that the global economy grows at a sluggish pace that leaves the world economy more exposed to risks.

In the communique, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors highlighted the risks of a potential UK exit, also known as "Brexit," from the European Union. "Geopolitical conflicts, terrorism, refugee flows, and the shock of a potential UK exit from the European Union also complicate the global economic environment," said the communique.

The heads of the World Bank and the IMF on Thursday also emphasized that Brexit is an "uncertainty" and "one of the serious down side risks" for British and world economy.

In order to restore confidence and shore up the growth, the G20 members repeated its earlier pledges to use all policy tools -- monetary, fiscal and structural ones, individually and collectively.

They also reiterated their commitment to refraining from using exchange rates for competitive advantage. "We reaffirm our previous exchange-rate commitments, including that we will refrain from competitive devaluations and we will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes," said the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in the communique.

The G20 members also moved a step forward vowing to curb tax evasion and money laundering. In the communique, the G20 economies called on relevant countries, including all financial centers and jurisdictions, to commit to implementing the standard on automatic exchange of information by 2017 or 2018.

According to the communique, G20 members will consider "defensive measures" against non-cooperative jurisdictions with respect to tax transparency and work with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to establish objective criteria for identifying non-cooperative jurisdictions by G20's July meeting.