APEC and the future of trans-Pacific free trade

The 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, to be held in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Friday and Saturday, has elicited much international attention. It is the first APEC meeting hosted by Vietnam, as well as the first to be attended by US President Donald Trump, as part of the longest trip to the Asia-Pacific taken by a US president since 1992. The world's eyes will be focused on Da Nang, especially on what transpires at what is usually described as one of the most significant annual summit meetings.

Regional integration and free trade have been high priority areas for quite some time. In fact, the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership has made considerable headway over the past few years and shown much promise. Unfortunately, it does not include any country from the Americas, which limits its potential to enhance trans-Pacific trade, although there is no reason why this could not be remedied in the future, say, by opening it up to "non-regional" members.

Then there is the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, APEC's grand project, whose feasibility study was submitted to the members at the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, in November last year. But still there is a long way to go before it is realized. Another is the "TPP 11", a variant of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, minus the United States. A fourth includes the four members of the Pacific Alliance (a Latin American integration scheme), that is, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, plus Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore, whose joining the alliance as associate members is currently being negotiated.