By Xinhua Writers He Liu and Ming Jinwei
SINGAPORE, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- At a time when global economies are just recovering from the worst downturn in decades, leaders from 21 developed and developing economies of the APEC gather here in Singapore this week to discuss ways to achieve sustainable economic growth, on whose expected list of priorities tops a pressing issue: resisting the temptation of trade protectionism.
Whether for a region that accounts for 43.7 percent of global trade, or the whole world which is on the brink of recovery, there is no need to elaborate the necessity of refraining from engaging in protectionism as a reaction to the crisis, which would be much likely capable of strangling the current fragile recovery.
Nevertheless, the reality tells a different story.
Despite much hue and cry about trade protectionism, some governments, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, have imposed remarkably trade barriers on imports. As unemployment continues to rise in some developed economies of the APEC, protectionist sentiment is intensifying even as the economy begins to recover.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been raising alarm bells about what it calls "protectionism juggernaut". According to its statistics, some 150 trade protectionist actions have been launched across the globe since the international financial crisis intensified, with hundreds more in the pipeline. "The danger today is of an incremental build-up of restrictions that could slowly strangle international trade," warned the WTO in a report.
Therefore, the APEC should be applauded for what it has done in promoting regional trade liberalization and facilitation, as well as agreeing to avoid protectionist measures and to revive world trade talks.
Twenty years after the APEC was founded, member economies have virtually reduced the average tariff in the region to 5 percent from 17 percent and continue to find ways to reduce trade barriers.
APEC's total exports grew five-fold between 1989 when it began and 2007, from 1.2 trillion U.S dollars to 6.2 trillion U.S. dollars, an annualized average growth of 9.5 percent compared to the world average of 8.9 percent, according to a study released by the APEC Policy Support Unit. Those figures have undoubtedly demonstrated the capacity of free trade system to unleash the potential for wealth creation.
However, as time gets tough, free trade becomes a scapegoat.
The difficulty for leadership, particularly in some developed economies of the APEC, may be that voters have got so used to uninterrupted growth and high employment rates, partly contributed by cheap credit, that they may feel angry and betrayed. The temptation to search for scapegoats, preferably foreign, is high. Just when the value of open economies and free trade needs strong political advocates, they are in fact in short supply.
As pointed out by some analysts, economic nationalism is contagious. Politicians need to confront popular anxieties about free trade by explaining how much we gain from the global expansion of wealth and markets and how much we lose from protectionism.
In contrast, some developed economies of the APEC have adopted a number of protectionist actions upon their trade partners, imposing tariffs on imports of various products, which, as warned by analysts, might send wrong signals and trigger an escalation of trade disputes that will dislocate the global financial system.
Just as what World Bank President Robert Zoellick mentioned at a symposium on APEC's 20 years of achievements held on Tuesday, that the trade liberalization process could be likened to "riding a bicycle": if you don' keep moving, you fall off, it is a pressing issue particularly for the APEC to resist the temptation of trade protectionism and show confidence in free trade system which plays a vital role in delivering long-term prosperity of the region.
