(Bloomberg) -- For three hours on Thursday morning, Donald Trump was the elephant in the room at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as speakers danced around any direct discussion of how he would shake up the global economic, political and business landscape.
Then Andres Velasco — the dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics — took the stage at the event, which is bringing some of the biggest names in politics and business together in Lima, Peru. His words warned of a bleak future as the American president-elect prepares to return to the White House.
“I think we are moving into a more protectionist world led by the United States. No question about it,” Velasco said. “And for the countries in this room, countries of the Pacific Rim, countries in East Asia, countries in Latin America, that is not very good news.”
It’s a view that had been echoed in hallways, conference rooms and hotel bars ahead of the APEC event, with officials privately voicing concerns over the incoming US administration.
Speculation is swirling around how the incoming US administration’s policies will affect the very issues that APEC attendees are talking about. Trump has vowed to boost American oil and gas production, which critics say will undermine efforts to address climate change. His threat to impose widespread tariffs risks roiling the global supply chain and upending economies across Latin America. And his stance on trade and tariffs will undoubtedly impact nations like Brazil, Peru and Mexico, which have deep economic ties with China.
But apart from Velasco, attendees on stage studiously avoided saying Trump’s name while warning about the fallout from his policies.
Vietnam President Luong Cuong is one example, warning in a keynote address that “isolationists, protectionism and trade wars lead only to recessions, conflict and poverty.”
Attendees’ reluctance to discuss Trump could very well change as the day progresses. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon will be speaking later Thursday. US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are also attending the APEC summit and are set to meet on Saturday.
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