The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation agenda has gained urgency with warnings from the European Union that its debt crisis could trigger a “deep and prolonged recession’’ next year. Such a recession would be felt sharply in the U.S., where growth is already anemic, and in Asia, which relies on Europe as a big market for its cars, clothing, consumer electronics and other exports.
But China, which some economists say is on course to overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy this decade, has been lukewarm about the Pacific trade pact.
Kirk said the ministers expect leaders of the countries involved in the so-called TPP to announce the broad outlines of a “high-standards, ambitious 21st-century trade pact.’’
“Of course, many of us believe that the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be the basis for a long-term APEC goal of a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific,’’ he said.
At their summit, the leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum also will endorse a range of “meaningful steps which will strengthen regional economic integration and expand trade,’’ he said.
Such strategies include better food security, increased trade and investment in environmental products and services, better access to financing for small and medium-size companies, faster customs clearance and greater harmony in regulatory standards.
The aim is to make it “cheaper, faster, and easier to do business in the APEC region,’’ according to a statement released by the ministers.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the ministerial meeting that by agreeing on something as rudimentary as shared safety standards for televisions, countries in the region saw exports of TVs jump by nearly half in three years.
