London ? A trans-Atlantic rift is growing over the right medicine for Europe’s financial crisis, with Britain announcing its steepest cuts in decades Tuesday and Germany defending its own austerity measures after a warning by President Barack Obama that budget-slashing could threaten the global recovery.

Britain’s emergency budget is the latest in a string of deep cuts in public spending and reflects new resolve in Europe, after Greece was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and even threatened the bloc’s economic union, to tackle debt before worrying about growth.

As leaders of the Group of 20 economic powers prepare to assemble later this week in Canada, that single-minded focus is worrying the United States. Obama wrote a letter to world leaders Friday warning against excessive spending cuts.