HANOI (Sputnik) — The position of the United States conveyed at the trade ministers meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) members states is different from the position of other participating countries, which does not allow for the common accord, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said Saturday.
"With the common constructive approach and good contacts on the multilateral and bilateral levels, the situation is worsened by the non-constructive position of the United States, which does not allow for the common consensus," Oreshkin told journalists on the sidelines of the summit.
"The tensions at the consultations are based on the fact the twenty countries in principle adhere to one position while one [country clings to] another position. This is an unclear position. All the countries support the development of the international trade, lifting of trade barriers, absence of protectionism, while another country speaks against this. The ministerial consultations will resume tomorrow, we will see what we will agree upon," Oreshkin explained adding that there was a risk that the final document on the results of Hanoi summit would not be singed.
On Saturday, the participants of the APEC summit noted that the preparations for December's Eleventh Ministerial Conference of the WTO were carried out with difficulties, and the proposed initiatives were not advancing.
"It is of course a very bad signal, the process is being slowed down and it is not still clear what will be presented in Argentina," Oreshkin pointed out.
In April, the White House issued an order to examine US trade deficits, which had been characterized by some of the country's trade partners as a move away from free trade and trade agreements.
A two-day meeting of the APEC trade ministers of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation began in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi earlier on Saturday. According to the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the summit would be dedicated to such issues as the increasing regional economic integration, the APEC agenda after 2020 and the innovation potential of medium, small and micro-businesses.
During the first day of the meeting, Oreshkin met with his counterparts from China, Singapore, Indonesia as well as the WTO's Director-General Roberto Azevedo.
