A stronger global economy is imperative and must be at the top of policy makers' agenda, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement to the International Monetary Fund's financial committee on Friday.
"Tail risks have receded recently, but global growth remains weak, and unemployment is still too high," he said.
He called on policy makers to do more to promote effective global rebalancing and said stronger demand in Europe is critical to improving global growth.
Lew said the U.S. economy remains resilient, having expanded for 14 consecutive quarters, but recognized the work still to be done to create jobs and accelerate growth. "Private employers have added nearly six and a half million jobs over the past 37 months," he said.
But the Treasury secretary said the world economy "cannot return to a pattern of global growth that is built on U.S. households being the world's importer of first and last resort."
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The path to stronger demand will also require countries like China to continue to encourage consumer demand "and reinvigorate the move to market determination of exchange rate and interest rates," Lew said.
Deficit reduction also remains a priority and Lew said the U.S. remains committed to bringing its deficits down to a sustainable level while building a foundation to promote economic growth.
"We are committed to working with Congress to achieve our fiscal goals while protecting the recovery in the near-term, and we believe that an agreement is within our reach," he said.