APEC Leaders Push Back Against Protectionism

亚太经合组织领导人抵制保护主义

LIMA, PERU Leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific nations have ended their annual summit with a call to resist protectionism and protect the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, which has been thrown into uncertainty after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum closed Sunday in Lima, Peru, with a joint pledge to work toward a sweeping new free trade agreement that would include all 21 members as a path to "sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,’’ despite the political climate.

Trump strongly criticized the TPP -- which includes the United States but not China -- during an election campaign notable for his strong criticism of U.S. free trade deals.

But at a news conference at the end of the summit, U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States should not retreat from global trade, but should seek to "do trade right’’ so that workers are protected and environmental standards are upheld.

Obama said it’s time for the U.S. to reaffirm its support for the TPP trade deal. He said if Trump withdraws the U.S. from the pact, it will be a weaker deal and the U.S. would lose an opportunity to shape the rules of global trade "in a way that reflects our values."

Earlier in the day, Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had brief talks about Syria and Ukraine on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, the White House said, in their first face-to-face encounter since the election victory of Donald Trump.

Obama later told reporters he encouraged Putin to uphold Russia’s commitments under the Minsk deal aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict. Both the White House and the Kremlin said the leaders agreed that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov should keep working on initiatives to decrease the violence in Syria and alleviate suffering.

Putin, speaking later in Lima, said he and Obama noted that while their working relationship had been difficult, they’d "always respected each other’s positions, and each other."

The Russian leader also said Trump has confirmed to him he is willing to mend ties.

"The president-elect confirmed he is willing to normalize Russian-American relations. I told him the same. We did not discuss where and when we would meet."

Barring unforeseen circumstances, this is the 52nd and final foreign trip of Obama’s eight years in the White House.

A cornerstone of Obama’s foreign policy was a focus on Asia and the Pacific, the so-called Asia-Pacific re-balance, but that could change substantially after he leaves office in nine weeks.

On Saturday, Obama had a message Saturday for 1,000 young leaders from all over Latin America and the Caribbean on President-elect Trump: "Don’t assume the worst."

Speaking at a town-hall style meeting in Peru’s capital, Obama took several questions from young people in the audience who were anxious about the future as the U.S. presidency changes hands.