Globalisation tops ministers’ discussion at Apec meeting

LIMA: Trade ministers of the 21 AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member economies kicked off their meeting here on Thursday, focusing on the anti-globalisation movement, rise of protectionism and income equality.

They also delved into the uncertain economy and sluggish world trade, and the implementation of inward-looking policies.

The ministers concluded their two-day meeting yesterday ahead of the 2016 Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting this weekend.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said in some parts of the world, people were questioning the benefits of globalisation.

“We must take these criticisms seriously,” Mustapa said here yesterday.

He said since Apec’s inception in 1989, it had supported free trade and championed trade facilitation to promote world trade and growth.

“While it is true that globalisation has not been perfect, it has created jobs and opportunities that have reduced poverty.”

Globalisation, he said, had brought small- and medium-sized enterprises into the global value chain.

However, there was an increasing realisation that some parts of the population had been marginalised by the process, Mustapa said.

This manifested in the shock Brexit vote in the United Kingdom in June and Donald Trump’s victory in the United States election.

Mustapa said there was a perception that globalisation had created income inequality. This had subsequently created anger among the poor and working class.

Apec economies, he said, must refine domestic policies and implement structural reforms to ensure that globalisation did not marginalise certain sections of society. By Zuraimi Abdullah