Asia-Pacific nations pledge to work on sweeping new free trade pact
Print Edition
LEADERS of 21 Asia-Pacific nations ended their annual summit with a call to resist protectionism amid signs of increased free-trade skepticism, highlighted by the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election.
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit closed on Sunday with a joint pledge to work toward a sweeping new free trade agreement that would include all 21 members as a path to “sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,” despite the political climate.
“We reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism,” the APEC leaders said in a joint statement.
APEC noted the “rising skepticism over trade” amid an uneven recovery since the financial crisis and said that “the benefits of trade and open markets need to be communicated to the wider public more effectively, emphasizing how trade promotes innovation, employment and higher living standards.”
Speaking to journalists at the conclusion of the summit, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said the main obstacle to free trade agreements in Asia and around the world was the frustration felt by those left behind by globalization.
“Protectionism in reality is a reflection of tough economic conditions,” said Kuczynski, the meeting’s host.
Referring to Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and Trump’s election win in the US, he said those results highlighted the backlash against globalization in former industrial regions in America and Britain that contrasted with support for trade in more-prosperous urban areas and developing countries.
“This is an important point in recent economic history because of the outcome of various elections in very important countries that have reflected an anti-trade, anti-openness feeling,” he said.
Chinese officials said more countries were looking to join a China-led trading bloc after Donald Trump’s election victory had raised fears the US would scrap free trade deals.
Trump campaigned for president on a promise to pull out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, and also threatened to impose steep tariffs against China and Mexico.
China is not part of the TPP and has been pushing an alternative vision of free trade in Asia under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which does not currently include countries in the Americas.
Tan Jian, a member of China’s delegation at the summit, said more countries were now seeking to join the 16-member bloc, including Peru and Chile, and that current members wanted to reach a deal as soon as possible to counter rising protectionism.
In a final declaration, APEC leaders said the TPP and RCEP were both valid paths to a broader Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, which had long been a goal of the APEC bloc that accounts for 57 percent of the world economy.
“We encourage that all regional undertakings, including TPP and RCEP, remain open, transparent and inclusive and draw on each other,” they said.
The APEC statement also said the members would adhere to the carbon reduction goals set in Paris last year to address climate change, a problem that they called a threat to food production and food security.
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