Chile announced Wednesday that it was canceling next month’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago due to protests inside the country. The announcement complicates the White House’s effort to strike a trade deal with Beijing since President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were set to meet at the event and work out “phase one” of an agreement reached earlier this month.
It is unclear if Trump and Xi will meet at an alternate location. “As of now, it appears APEC will not occur in Chile, and it’s our understanding the organization does not currently have a secondary site prepared. We’re awaiting potential information regarding another location,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley.
The summit was already in a troubled state, as it was unclear if Trump and Xi would be able to reach any sort of firm agreement on a deal. “Our goal is to sign it in Chile. But sometimes texts aren’t ready. But good progress is being made, and we expect to sign the agreement in Chile,” a Trump administration official said Tuesday. Previously, the administration had said the entire process to get the deal done would likely take three, not two, stages.
A failure to get a deal completed would increase the odds that the Trump administration imposes new tariffs on China in December. White House officials could not be reached for comment.
Santiago has been the site of protests and riots against the administration of President Sebastián Piñera for more than a week that have resulted in at least 17 dead and thousands arrested. Chilean businesses have lost an estimated $1.4 billion to damages. The protests were sparked by a hike in metro fares. The country’s economy has suffered due to trade tensions and a decline in the price of copper, one of Chile’s top exports.
