Full coverage: Xi Visits Ecuador, Peru and Chile, Attends APEC Summit

United States President Barack Obama has reaffirmed his support for trade agreements. In a news conference at the closing of the APEC meeting, Obama said the U.S. should not retreat from global trade, but seek to “do trade right” so workers are protected and environmental standards are upheld.

“When it comes to trade, I believe the answer is not to pull back or try to erect barriers to trade, given our integrated economies and global supply chains, that would hurt us all, but rather the answer is to do trade right,” Obama said.

“Making sure that it has strong labour standards, strong environment standards, that it addresses ways in which workers and ordinary people can benefit rather than be harmed by global trade. All of this is the central work of APEC.”