APEC ministers urge free trade against crisis

By Maria Luisa Palomino and Terry Wade

LIMA (Reuters) - Trade and foreign ministers from the United States, China and other economies around the Pacific Rim called on Thursday for new free trade deals as a way out of the global economic crisis.

The ministers' recommendations to avoid raising tariff barriers and to deepen economic integration among members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, trade group, will be presented to a summit of leaders at the weekend.

U.S. President George W. Bush and the leaders of the other 20 APEC economies, which together account for more than half of global output, are expected to use the summit to give another push to stalled world trade talks known as the Doha round.

"We insist that at these times of crisis we are against any protectionist sentiment and we reaffirm our commitment to opening trade and to investment," Peru's Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia told reporters.

China, which joined India in holding up the most recent Doha talks in July, said it was open to fresh talks before the end of the year.

"At the same time, we do not want to hold a ministerial meeting without ample preparations, so we can avoid further trouble from too many Doha negotiations that lead people to lose confidence in the world economy," said Commerce Minister Chen Deming.

Nine members of APEC are also in the G20 group of leading economies that last week agreed to take fiscal stimulus measures to stave off a deep recession.

The ministers meeting in Lima said they supported recommendations from the G20 group, including more funds for the International Monetary Fund to support emerging economies, and reviews of major global banks.