The United States has reiterated that it would not take part, after the International Monetary Fund said it was seeking $500 billion, to protect against Europe’s financial crisis.
The US Treasury Department insisted that Europe has adequate means itself to address the Euro Zone public debt crisis.
“We continue to believe that the IMF can play an important role in Europe, but only as a supplement to Europe’s own efforts,” said Treasury spokeswoman, Kara Alaimo.
“Europe has the capacity to solve its problems. The IMF cannot substitute for a robust Euro area firewall,” she said.
“We have told our international partners that we have no intention to seek additional resources for the IMF.”
The Treasury statement came hours after the IMF announced it would seek a sharp boost in its financial firepower as the European public debt crisis increasingly threatens the global economy.
“Based on staff’s estimate of global potential financing needs of about $1 trillion in the coming years, the fund would aim to raise up to $500 billion in additional lending resources,” it said in a statement.
The sum includes the commitment from Euro Zone countries to contribute nearly $200 billion.
The administration of President Barack Obama has long signalled that it would not seek approval from Congress for additional funds for the IMF.