Clinton flies to Mexico for G20 session 'to push for freer but fairer trade'

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew Saturday, Feb 18, to Mexico for a session of the Group of 20 major economies where her aides said she would push for freer but fairer trade.

According to AFP, Clinton will spend three days in the Pacific Ocean resort of Los Cabos for talks among senior officials. The setting is deliberately informal, with host Mexico hoping to foster cooperation rather than make concrete achievements.

Echoing frequent themes for President Barack Obama's administration, Clinton will call on major economies to tackle "21st century" barriers to trade and adhere to global standards, a US official said on condition of anonymity.

"In the 21st century, a lot of the barriers to trade, a lot of the distortions to trade, are not the ones that we're focused on largely in the 20th century, which were at the border," the official said.

He pointed to "anti-competitive government practices or distortions" which create obstacles on the market.

"So we're not saying we're forcing you or encouraging you to play by rules that we come up with, that we dictate. What we're simply saying is that there are global rules," the official said.

"These global rules and norms have been established for years, and it's very important for players in the global system to play by global rules and adhere to global norms," he said.