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APEC economic growth projected to slow to 2.6% in 2025 amid rising protectionism

Published: 16 May. 2025, 16:42

Participants in a trade ministers' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies pose for a photo during the opening ceremony on the southern island of Jeju on May 15 in this photo provided by Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. [YONHAP]

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has projected the region's economy to grow 2.6 percent this year, sharply falling from the 3.6 percent growth in 2024, a report showed Friday.

The APEC made the forecast in its latest economic report released for the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened the previous day for a two-day run on the southern resort island of Jeju.

The report said economic growth in the APEC region will likely moderate to 2.6 percent in 2025 and 2.7 percent in 2026 from the 3.6 percent recorded last year.

The APEC region's growth projection for this year was lower than the forecast of 2.9 percent growth for the rest of the world.

"APEC faces a sharper growth downgrade than the rest of the world due to increased trade disputes and protectionism, as well as shifting supply chains, amid a complex global environment," the report said.

"Heightened trade uncertainties and volatility are weakening demand, eroding investor confidence, slowing exports and dampening growth prospects," it added.

APEC's forecast is in line with the Korea Development Institute's recent revision that halved Korea's 2025 growth outlook to 0.8 percent.

The state-run think tank attributed the cut to a recent spike in global trade tensions, sparked by a barrage of U.S. tariff measures.

The International Monetary Fund recently projected 1 percent growth for the Korean economy in 2025, while the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Bank of Korea each projected 1.5 percent growth.

The APEC report also suggested that the growth of exports in the region will sharply decline, only rising by 0.4 percent in 2025, compared with a 5.7 percent increase the previous year.

In April, Korea's exports gained 3.7 percent from a year earlier, but outbound shipments to the United States dropped sharply due to the Donald Trump administration's hefty tariffs.

Exports to the United States decreased 6.8 percent on year to $10.6 billion, with auto and chip exports, in particular, shrinking by 16.6 percent and 22.6 percent, respectively.

Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has said, "The high U.S. tariffs appear to have affected the country's exports to the United States."

Amid intensifying global trade uncertainties, this year's APEC trade ministers' meeting brought together top trade officials from 21 APEC member economies, as well as senior officials from the World Trade Organization and the OECD.

The meeting centered on discussions on AI innovation for trade facilitation, connectivity through a multilateral trading system and prosperity through sustainable trade.

Yonhap