Ministers from 21 Pacific Rim economies explored cooperation in promoting free trade and regional economic integration as they gathered in Vietnam on Wednesday amid concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's preference for bilateral trade deals under his "America First" policy.
On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the central Vietnamese city of Danang, the 11 remaining signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership came a step closer to a broad agreement to implement their free trade deal after the United States' January withdraw.
At the single-day APEC meeting, Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh, co-chair of the APEC gathering, expressed in his opening remarks the "determination of APEC in pursuing a free and open region for trade and investment."