Trade ministers from the top economies that make up APEC are meeting in South Korea from Thursday as global trade cooperation falters, with US President Donald Trump's tariffs upending markets and long-established trade systems.
Higher tariffs and retaliatory measures are leading to “a loss of investor confidence, weakening demand, and could eventually affect jobs”, Carlos Kuriyama, director of the APEC Policy Support Unit, told a press briefing.
As a result, APEC countries are forecast to post just 2.6 percent GDP growth in 2025, down from an earlier projection of 3.3 percent, according to new estimates.
While APEC includes a wide range of economies, all are struggling, Kuriyama said.
In addition to 25 percent tariffs on automobiles and steel, the Trump administration announced “reciprocal” tariff surcharges in early April, which have been suspended until July.
Uncertainty is dangerous, he added.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer is attending the summit and has held bilateral talks with attendees, including Chinese international trade representative Li Chenggang.
“This is positive, but this is not taking us to the situation before April”, when Trump unleashed his tariffs, Kuriyama told reporters.
“The US is the largest the largest market, it is the largest economy, so it represents a very significant percentage of the global economy,“ Kuriyama said.
“It will be hard to find a way to replace all these opportunities.”
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