"Trade is not going to solve the crisis but trade can help," he told Reuters in an interview. The proposal would have to agreed on in the next couple of weeks to get approved at the APEC trade ministers' meeting in May, Vitalis said. Some APEC nations committed last year to keeping Covid-19 supply chains open and removing trade restrictions on essential goods, especially medical supplies. The consensus-based APEC has struggled to reach agreements in recent years amid then-President Donald Trump's trade war with China. Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump last month, has promised a more multilateral approach but is not expected to rush into trade deals with Beijing.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 21, 2021 18:00 UTC