Key Trends and Developments Relating to Trade and Investment Measures and Their Impact on the APEC Region, October 2013

This report was presented at the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in October 2013. It highlights that as economic activity has recently gathered strength in advanced economies, it has begun to slow in many developing and emerging economies. Trade performance in the first half of 2013 was also weaker than expected as the strong growth in import demand from emerging economies wasn't enough to offset the weakened import demand in advanced economies. The report also discusses how the recovery in foreign direct investment (FDI) since the Global Financial Crisis was derailed in 2012 as global FDI inflows dropped by nearly 20%. Although the outlook for economic activity in the APEC region remains favourable in comparison with the rest of the world, downside risks to the global economy still remain, including a re-intensification of the Euro area crisis as well as the normalization of monetary policy in some major advanced economies leading to tighter financial conditions. Encouragingly, the report also found that APEC members have been faring quite well in implementing measures that help to facilitate trade and investment in their economies.