The United States will have to take into account the views of the European Union and countries like India, China and Japan while framing foreign economic policy because of their growing clout in the global market, a top US analyst has said.

"As the sole military superpower, the United States may often be able to undertake unilateral initiatives for the sake of national security. But in economic policy, unilateralism is simply not an option," C Paul Bergsten, director of the Institute for International Economics and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, wrote in Foreign Affairs.

No government, Washington included, can ignore market forces, he said, adding that the EU's economy is now as large as that of the United States, and the euro has begun to challenge the dollar for global financial leadership.

Pointing out that a new global order is emerging, Bergsten said more and more "emerging market economies -- China and India most notably -- are becoming world-class competitors in a range of actions.

"This development will require even more rapid improvement in the skills of US workers and the flexibility of US-based companies. It will require more effective safety nets  to cushion the inevitable victims of transition," he added.

The US now relies on foreign investors, including the monetary authorities of competitor Asian economies, to finance massive external deficits and it depends on oil imported at prices set by producers of other countries, Bergsten said.