APEC countries agree to launch massive new free-trade zone

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev meets with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the the APEC summit in Yokohama, Japan, Sunday.

Asia-Pacific leaders today agreed to press ahead with plans to create an expansive regional free-trade zone in coming years.

After two days of talks in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed to "take concrete steps toward realizing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific [FTAAP]," which will link fast-growing economies in the region with the world’s three biggest in the United States, China, and Japan.

The free-trade zone, which Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said may start by 2020, would slash tariffs on imports of everything from automobile parts to food in an area encompassing more than half the world’s economic production and two-fifths of its trade.