Nov 22, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern
Bush Urges Countries To Avoid Protectionism
LIMA, Peru (AP) ―
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US President George W. Bush shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper chat on Nov. 22, 2008, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima.
Mandel Ngan
Leaders from 21 nations that account for half the world's economy pledged Saturday to resist protectionist measures -- no matter how punishing the global downturn gets.
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru, the leaders met behind closed doors, seeking to build on last weekend's Group of 20 summit in Washington, which proposed no new trade barriers over the next 12 months.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told business executives that protectionism would bring devastating consequences.
"Companies will go bankrupt and countless jobs will be lost, and poor nations and poor people will suffer the most damage," he said.
U.S. President George W. Bush said nations must "resist the temptation to overcorrect" for the crisis by "imposing regulations that would stifle innovation and choke off growth."
"One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin," he said.
The leaders argued their case with free-trade success stories. Lee, former head of the Hyundai group, said open markets were central to boosting his nation's per-capital annual income from $100 in the 1960s to $20,000 today. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the North American Free Trade Agreement has tripled trade and created 40 million jobs.
The leaders were expected to commit to wrapping up the broad outlines of a free-trade agreement by the end of December. Nick Reilly, president of General Motors Corp. Asia-Pacific, said they had better hurry since they will face intense pressure at home to protect their must vulnerable markets.
"The economies haven't yet seen the full impact of unemployment hit. So domestically, the leaders are going to be facing that," Reilly told The Associated Press.
But delegates said the leaders were unlikely to make important decisions until U.S. President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. He did not send representatives to Lima.
"In terms of leadership, the next U.S. administration must assume leadership in a very firm manner-not just for Americans but for the whole world," said Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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