Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Group of 20 finance ministers will start setting a timetable for measures to avoid the kind of lopsided trade and investment flows blamed for contributing to the global crisis, a U.S. Treasury Department official said.

The official briefed reporters today in Washington ahead of a Nov. 6-7 meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland, where Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will join finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s biggest developed and emerging economies. The ministers are charged with developing a review process intended to hold countries accountable for how they manage their economies.

This week’s meeting follows September’s summit in Pittsburgh hosted by President Barack Obama, where leaders agreed to curb risk-taking by banks and better align economic policies as the global economy pulls out of its worst slump since the Great Depression.

“As the process of the recovery continues it is vital that we cooperate more effectively in managing the world economy, recognizing that our economies are highly interdependent,” U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said in a letter to his G-20 counterparts released today by his office.

The meeting in Scotland will also cover when and how to remove the monetary and fiscal stimulus measures put in place to fight the crisis. Some governments are starting to wind down emergency measures after pumping more than $2 trillion into the global economy in the form of tax cuts and extra spending, while central banks slashed interest rates.

Collaboration Fraying

Signs are emerging that the collaboration may be fraying. Lawmakers in the U.S. and U.K. are at odds over how to deal with the risk posed by large financial institutions, China is resisting demands to let its currency strengthen and central banks are moving to remove stimulus at varying speeds.

The Treasury spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that it’s too soon to remove stimulus measures. Even so, he said, the G-20 ministers will start planning for an eventual withdrawal.

The U.S. recovery remains fragile and uneven, the official said, even after a report last week showing that gross domestic product expanded at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter following 12 months of contraction.

G-20 leaders pledged to correct the so-called imbalances blamed for fueling the crisis. U.S. consumers borrowed money to finance purchases of Asian-made cars and flat-screen TVs. Asian exporters, meanwhile, invested their surplus cash in U.S. Treasury notes, pushing down borrowing costs and further fueling the credit binge.

Currencies a Topic

Currencies may also be a topic at the meetings, the U.S. official said. The dollar reached a 14-month low against the euro on Oct. 26 as low U.S. interest rates and capital outflows offset a narrowing trade deficit.

“The imbalances are back,” Niall Ferguson, a Harvard University professor, said in an Oct. 28 Bloomberg radio interview. “In some ways they’re worse. As the dollar weakens and as China follows the dollar down by means of its dollar peg, the pain is being transferred.”

In Pittsburgh, officials agreed to establish a “framework for strong sustainable and balanced growth.” Countries with significant deficits in their trade accounts promised to save more, while those with surpluses will strengthen domestic demand. The International Monetary Fund will help them assess each others’ attempts to meet those objectives.

As part of the push for greater coordination, countries will start by assessing their own economic policies, the U.S. official said today. The IMF will gather material and conduct its own analysis, followed by discussion of its findings.

In Scotland this week, ministers will discuss what information each country will provide and on what timeline, heading into another leaders’ summit in June 2010, the U.S. official said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Rebecca Christie in Washington at rchristie4@bloomberg.net; Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 18:36 EST