Apec members mull free-trade zone
Afp, Ottawa
Canada and its 20 Apec trading partners are scrutinizing a possible free-trade zone that would stretch across the vast Pacific Ocean, in lieu of further WTO talks, a senior official said Friday. "There's a really interesting debate going on about it since the suspension of the Doha Round (of World Trade Organization talks)," the official, who asked to remain anonymous, said during an Apec briefing. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, next week for a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders. The trading bloc now accounts for 47 percent of world trade. The United States has also pressed Apec countries to consider a Pacific Rim free-trade zone -- an idea conceived by Canadian Pierre Lortie, a member of Apec 's Business Advisory Council, the Canadian official said.
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