APEC leaders pledge to reform lenders, liberalize trade

APEC leaders pledge to reform lenders, liberalize trade (NSI News Source Info) LIMA - November 23, 2008: Leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries pledged measures to reform international financial institutions and liberalize trade in a bid to fight the ongoing global financial crisis. In a statement issued by the two-day summit of the 21-member APEC forum in Peru, the leaders said they would refrain within the next 12 months from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services and from imposing new export restrictions. The APEC leaders also said they would seek to reach agreement next month on a basic agreement on the Doha round of global free trade talks, which was stalled in July, and reform global financial institutions "to reflect the increasing voice and representation of emerging and developing economies and be more responsive to future challenges." The current global credit crunch started in the United States and quickly spread to Asia and Europe, leading to record losses on global financial markets and a liquidity shortage.