Asia Trade Talks in Dispute

Asia-Pacific trade ministers meeting in Vietnam this weekend may fail to issue a joint statement amid a dispute over wording, according to Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin, Bloomberg reported. While not directly referring to the US, Oreshkin said one nation was at odds with others on the content. “There is a risk there will be no statement,” he said. Asked if the US was the country opposing a strong statement against protectionism, he replied: “You can guess.” “It’s not only us, it’s everybody on this forum wants to get clarity on what the US thinks about its trade policy,” he said Saturday in an interview at the meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministers in Hanoi.