Peru president, APEC host, warns of threats to free trade

“The prospect of the USA turning inward in its economic strategy means that China has freer rein to become the focal point of regional integration efforts”, said Mireya Solis, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

This year in Lima, Peru, the Asian giant is likely to carry even more weight in shaping trade and economic growth around the Pacific.

The Meeting of Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum enters thus the final stretch, which will take place over the weekend with the participation of the 21 member countries.

Instead of promoting a now all-but dead trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, economic experts expect Obama will field uncomfortable questions about Trump’s pledges to overhaul USA trade policy, crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and withdraw from a global agreement to fight climate change.

While campaigning for the presidential election which he won, Trump labeled the TPP “a disaster” and called for curbs on immigration. “Both leaders agree that the TPP is not only important geopolitically and in terms of trade, but also for the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole”, it said.

APEC summit host Peru has already started talks with the Chinese about joining Beijing’s regional trade pact while clinging to hope Trump will change his mind.

Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Eduardo Ferreyros (who is co-chairing the ministerial meeting) said considering the current global situation, APEC should set an example to the world and carry out initiatives and actions towards its core objectives on trade.

Mr Key will meet with the 11 other TPP leaders tomorrow to discuss whether the now-shelved trade deal has a future.

Elms, a TPP proponent, told VOA she wishes Trump would see there is no better option for helping American workers than the 12-nation deal and that he will “killing the TPP means handing an early victory to China”. But due to Trump’s refusal to endorse the deal, Biswas said, “the TPP agreement has shifted from being a lame duck to a dead duck”.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said recent elections in the US and Britain are evidence that “protectionist tendencies” are gaining ground. Malaysia’s Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed said his government was looking to push for finalizing and joining Beijing’s RCEP.

“We look forward to the Dialogue and Seminar regarding FTAAP next year”, they said. Despite Trump’s promises to revive industry, those jobs are unlikely to return in large enough numbers, said APEC executive director Alan Bollard.

“The key strategic challenge for the Trump administration is whether the United States will strengthen its engagement with the Asia-Pacific or retreat towards a more isolationist stance”, he said in a note.

“This puts us in a crucial time to address the specific problems of the food production sector”, Hernandez said.

Kishida said it is vital that Japan, the United States and 10 other Pacific Rim countries steadily promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation free trade agreement Trump, the NY celebrity business mogul, has pledged to scrap once he takes office in January.

State leaders will also prioritize the establishment of conditions that make participation in cross-border trade and supply chains easier for small businesses, which account for more than 97 per cent of all firms and the majority of employment in the region.