Ministers end meeting with commitment to free trade
LIMA: Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies ended their meeting on Friday, reassuring their commitment to promote free trade across the region.
As this year’s summit of the 21member group got under way, AsiaPacific leaders had been urged to defend free trade from rising protectionism.
This comes amid fears that years of tearing down barriers to global commerce could be reversed with the victory of Donald Trump in the United States presidential election.
Trump successfully tapped into the anger of working class Americans, who felt marginalised by globalisation. He vowed to protect American jobs against cheap labour in countries like China and Mexico.
“Faced with rising scepticism over trade and stagnated trade growth, we reiterate our commitment to build an open economy in the AsiaPacific region, featuring innovative development, interconnected growth and shared interests,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
They reaffirmed that open trade policies were essential for sustained recovery and boosting growth in the coming years.
The ministers, including International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, also underlined the importance of women’s contributions to economic growth.
“We call on economies to pursue concrete policies and innovative measures to further enhance women’s economic empowerment by providing wider access and more resources for more women to engage in economic activities,” they said.
The ministerial meeting was followed by the two-day leaders’ summit starting yesterday.