APEC Leaders Say No to Protectionism
Lee Appeals for Global Coordination to Avert Crisis
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak has urged Asia-Pacific nations to embrace counter-cyclical polices to avert a prolonged slump in the global economy.
In his keynote speech at the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Lima, Peru, Lee said APEC member states, which account for over half of the global economy, have to actively enforce counter-cyclical policies to fight the worldwide economic crisis.''
``Economic growth is stagnant worldwide due to loss of confidence. Under these circumstances, a closer international policy coordination is very critical," he said.
Lee called on countries worldwide to expand fiscal spending and join international efforts to prevent the spread of trade protectionism.
He urged the 21 APEC member nations to spearhead efforts to swiftly conclude deadlocked negotiations over the WTO Doha Development Agenda on global trade liberalization.
U.S. President George W. Bush and other Asia-Pacific leaders shared the anti-protectionist view and pledged not to implement any protectionist measures for the next 12 months.
``One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin,'' Bush said.
The U.S. President urged other nations to reject calls to erect protectionist trade barriers and keep pushing to liberalize trade, and not to repeat mistakes that turned a similar calamity seven decades ago into the Great Depression.
``Recovering from the financial crisis is going to take time, but we'll recover and so begin a new era of economic prosperity,'' Bush said.
President Lee then called for greater investment in clean energies, such as wind power, to fight climate change.
``Although we are now going through an economic crisis, for sustainable growth we must not neglect common issues of humankind, such as climate change and our resource crisis,'' Lee said. ``We urgently need a new energy paradigm that can get us through the current energy and climate change crisis."
He continued, ``This is not a path that we can either take or not. It is one we must take for future generations.''
In a separate speech before the opening session of the APEC summit, President Lee urged Asia-Pacific countries to work out unprecedented measures to overcome the unprecedented global economic crisis.
He asked countries worldwide to strive to stimulate their economies through fiscal expansion and tax reduction.
Lee called on those countries to pay extraordinary attention to small- and medium-sized enterprises and boost their policy effects through closer regional and international cooperation.
``A possible negative economic growth in the United States, Europe, Japan and other advanced economies next year could have a devastating impact on the entire world,'' he said.