Bush makes plea against protectionism

US President George Bush, faced with a dwindling number of days in office, was using his final world summit to try to keep a virulent economic crisis from triggering a retreat into protectionism.

Mr Bush was pushing to get the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in the Peruvian capital of Lima to endorse a global action plan for combatting the crisis in which the nations would commit to not erecting new trade barriers over the next 12 months.

The countries would instead pledge to push ahead to jump-start stalled global trade talks by getting a broad outline for a deal completed by the end of December.

In his weekly radio address, which sounded themes he was expected to elaborate on during a speech to business leaders, Mr Bush said all countries must focus on the three great forces that drive economic growth – “free markets, free trade and free people”.

“Free markets have helped millions lift themselves out of poverty,” the president said. “Free trade has helped small nations turn themselves into global economic powers.”

“We’re facing difficult challenges and there will be tough days ahead,” Mr Bush said.

Those comments came after another bad week on Wall Street, with renewed gloom about the prospects of a deepening global recession pushing US stocks down to six-year lows.

The Dow Jones industrial average did stage a nearly 500-point rally in late trading yesterday following reports that US President-elect Barack Obama was choosing Timothy Geithner, the president of Federal Reserve’s New York regional bank, to be his treasury secretary.

Mr Geithner has won kudos for the key role he has played in helping manage the current crisis.

Mr Bush admitted during talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao that he “felt a little nostalgic” that it would be their last meeting when both were heads of state.