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PacNet #49 – APEC 2005: can South Korea lead the charge?

There are two big events on the international economic calendar in the six weeks remaining in 2005. The first is the APEC Economic Leaders meeting that will be held Nov. 18-19 in Busan, South Korea; the second is the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial that will be held in Hong Kong Dec. 17-18. The two are linked: the 21 APEC members are acutely aware of the need to contribute to the successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda. U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman has praised South Korean trade minister Kim Hyun-chong for focusing APEC’s attention on this task, calling him “a leader globally on trade issues.”