Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, said APEC will recognise that not all elements of globalisation are beneficial for all people. Let us hope so.
PNG leader on Globalisation
The following is an extract from Papua New Guinea News Today.
Mr O’Neill went on to say, “Sentiments being expressed by people all around the world today are that globalisation is not necessarily beneficial for everyone. As a result of that, many of the most vulnerable people have been affected by some of the arrangements and agreements that we have put in place over the years. Yes, there has been growth, but there have also been people affected by the loss of jobs and income, and many small businesses and micro businesses have not been able to be competitive when larger multi-nationals come into their markets.”
Mr. O’Neill said this is particularly the case in emerging economies, as well as for some of the developed economies.
Continuing his argument, he said, “Despite some structural reforms that have been underway in our respective economies, and how we manage our state owned enterprises, these issues continue to linger. APEC has a responsibility in ensuring that we work together in enhancing how we move capital, goods and services, and skilled labour right across our economies, so that we can enhance value chains and continue to enable growth within our economies.”
Interesting isn’t it that it takes the leader of a very poor developing nation to bell the cat, as Donald Trump has done, on the false ideology that unbounded free trade will be the saviour of the world. They both know that trade needs to be managed according to the particular needs of each nation.
One thing we know for certain: economists and the left/elite have let the world down on this issue, instead of using their energies to help resolve the distortions that they have helped to create.
