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Political reality has forced New Zealand to retreat from its lobbying of the United States for a free-trade agreement, Prime Minister Helen Clark effectively conceded at Apec in Hanoi.
She also effectively said she was sick of all the talk and no action on the multilateral front at forums like Apec, ahead of a strongly worded declaration by leaders on the Doha Round of World Trade organisation talks promising to move beyond their positions.
As next-best option to a multilateral deal in the World Trade Organisation, the issue of a free-trade area of the Asia Pacific region as a "long-term prospect" was progressed with the approval of a study to be presented at next year's summit in Sydney.
After a meeting with President George W. Bush, Helen Clark told reporters she had not mentioned an FTA. "We are not approaching that head-on at the moment."
Referring to the congressional mid-term elections, she said there was a new situation to deal with. The President's fast-track authority to negotiate free-trade deals expired in about seven months.
