Blame game gets louder with US budget cuts looking inevitable

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A day before sweeping budget cuts begin, the White House and Republicans blamed each other on Thursday for failure to prevent a fiscal crisis which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned could slow the United States (US) and world economies.

Absent a highly unlikely last-ditch deal, the US$85 billion (S$105.3 billion) in cuts across federal government agencies start on Friday.

While Democrats and Republicans disagree about how severe the damage will be to public services like air traffic control and law enforcement, the IMF said the economic recovery would likely be harmed by the automatic spending cuts known as "sequestration".

"We will see what happens on Friday, but everybody is assuming that sequestration is going to take effect," IMF spokesman William Murray said.