The past weekend saw ministerial meetings of multiple configurations in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi, as officials discussed the future of various trade-related initiatives in the region. The main event was the trade ministers’ meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a regional coalition of 21 economies. The event was the first since Robert Lighthizer was confirmed as US Trade Representative (USTR) earlier this month under the Trump administration. (See Bridges Weekly, 18 May 2017 ) The Hanoi meeting reportedly saw countries debate how to address topics such as protectionism, the definitions of free and fair trade, and the sources of trade distortions – a series of issues that has emerged in trade and finance ministers’ meetings of other country groupings throughout the year, particularly in light of the new US leadership’s trade agenda. “APEC provides a great opportunity to focus energy on the barriers to its stated objective of free and open trade – a goal that cannot be met without tackling trade-distorting measures that have led to massive US trade imbalances in the region,” said Lighthizer in a statement following the discussions. Officials from the 21-country coalition ultimately signed off on a set of “ trade actions...