Australian PM warns against protectionism

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, opening a visit to Washington, has warned that protectionism would set back the global economy's recovery.

Rudd, who is set to meet with President Barack Obama on the economic crisis and other issues, endorsed stimulus spending but said that it should only be temporary.

"Governments temporarily need to step into the breach in terms of providing stimulus for growth and jobs in their economies," Rudd told a forum organized The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

But Rudd warned against protectionism, saying "If we go down that road, then frankly we are simply retarding unnecessarily the patent for global economic recovery."

Leaders of both developed and developing nations have been sounding alarms about protectionism as the world economy suffers its worst crisis in decades.

Under pressure from Obama and foreign trading partners, the US Congress earlier this year watered down the clause intended to give US-manufactured goods the priority in infrastructure projects.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report --