APEC leaders are due to discuss the prospects for a Free Trade Area which would include all member economies. Despite most countries agreeing to the move in principle, there are differing opinions over the timescale of such a deal.

The APEC Business Advisory Council says a free trade area has the best chance of ensuring stable economic growth. Back in 2006, senior officials meeting in Vietnam, said they would examine the long-term prospects for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific - the FTAAP.

The proposal arose due to a lack of progress in the Doha round of WTO negotiations. It seeks to overcome the sometimes overlapping and conflicting elements of free trade agreements between individual members.

The proposed FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region.

In 2010, a joint declaration entitled "Yokohama Vision", resolved to translate FTAAP from an inspirational to a more concrete vision. It called for such a deal to be comprehensive and high quality, and incorporate and address future trade and investment issues.

Some free trade areas have been formed within APEC, such as the ASEAN plus China and the 10 member states in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations. The FTAAP will seek to develop and build on these regional bodies.

APEC members such as the US favor the establishment of the FTAAP -- while others view it as more of a long-term goal. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, and will require studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies. It does however face an uphill struggle, with both a lack of political will, and domestic lobbying against free trade in many countries.

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