Bush Gains APEC Support For Reforms To Financial Markets

November 24, 2008 10:34 a.m. EST

Lima, Peru (AHN) - Meeting for the annual summit over the weekend, members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) endorsed a declaration made by President George W. Bush and G20 nations for global financial reforms and pledged an "ambitious conclusion" to the Doha Round of talks.

Bush and leaders of the 21-member APEC agreed "on a framework that leads to an ambitious conclusion" to the World Trade Organization negotiations called the Doha Round, according to the White House. The Doha Round began in 2001 but stalled two years after.

Bush made his last foreign trip as commander-in-chief to Lima, Peru to attend the summit. APEC is a key forum that accounts for 55 percent of world GDP and 41 percent of the world's population. U.S. trade with APEC makes up nearly two-thirds of all American goods trade.

Nine of APEC's members also attended the G20 meeting in Washington on Nov. 15. That two-day conference among leaders from a group of twenty nations formed in 1999 after the last global financial crisis closed with a declaration of cooperation and support for more "vigorous" steps to stabilize and financial markets.

The declaration said that while "strong action" had been taken to address regulatory deficiencies and to unfreeze credit markets, "more needs to be done" to stop "deteriorating economic conditions worldwide," including a coordinate effort to reform and strengthen accountability among regulatory agencies.

Over the weekend, the APEC welcomed the declaration. "There is a risk that slower world growth could lead to calls for protectionist measures which would only exacerbate the current economic situation. In this regard, we strongly support the Washington Declaration and will refrain within the next 12 months from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services," the forum said in a statement.

The APEC also said the global financial crisis will be fixed after 18 months. The timetable was added to the APEC agreement by the Peruvian president, Dan Price, White House assistant for International Economic Affairs, said in a briefing on Sunday.

"Certainly some in the region think that recovery may take 18 months. President Bush believes that the actions we are taking now will begin to produce results in the much nearer term, in the coming months. But again, coming back to the key point that with countries agreeing to pursue pro-growth policies, reject protectionism, ensure continued trade and investment liberalization, the President shares the confidence that we will be able to get through this crisis," Price added.

Bush also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss North Korea's denuclearization. China, Japan, South Korea and the United States are part of negotiations, called six-party talks, with North Korea about disarmament.