Key Trends and Developments Relating to Trade and Investment Measures and Their Impact on the APEC Region, November 2011

This report, which was presented at the Annual Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in November 2011 in Honolulu, USA, highlighted that the global economic recovery has slowed down and has also become more uncertain due to the increased risks surrounding the fiscal and financial situation in advanced economies. In addition, inflationary pressures are still relatively elevated, especially in emerging and developing economies. Although the rebound in trade volumes in 2010 had been an important driver of the global recovery, they are not expected to play such an important role in growth as before as industrial production fell in early 2011. Additionally, the pace of removal of previous trade restrictive measures remains slow and the implementation of new export restrictions has accelerated. A sustainable economic recovery therefore depends on the results from the ongoing fiscal and financial reform measures as well as from global rebalancing efforts.