Toward a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific

C. Fred Bergsten is the director of the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics. He was assistant secretary for international affairs of the US Treasury (1977–81) and assistant for international economic affairs at the National Security Council (1969–71). He was chairman of APEC’s Eminent Persons Group, which developed the initial blueprint for the organization’s trade policy strategy, throughout its existence (1993–95). He has authored, coauthored, or edited 37 books on international economic issues, including most recently China: The Balance Sheet (Public Affairs, 2006) and The United States and the World Economy: Foreign Economic Policy for the Next Decade (2005). Portions of this policy brief were initially prepared for the project “Trade Policy Alternatives for APEC” conducted by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) in 2006 and for presentations to the APEC CEO Summit in Hanoi and the annual conference of the US Asia Pacific Council in Washington, both in November 2006.