US pleased with Apec 'green' products list

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) - The United States (US) welcomed on Friday a deal to cut tariffs on dozens of "green" products in the Asia-Pacific, saying it would boost the region's economies as well as help protect the environment.

Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group agreed on Thursday on 54 products that would have tariffs slashed to 5 per cent or less by 2015, including wind turbine blades and solar batteries.

"We're very pleased with the outcome of yesterday's trade ministers meeting. I think we really had good results on environmental goods," US Deputy Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told AFP.

"We've come up with a result that will be very important in terms of liberalisation of trade in the area of environmental goods." Mr Marantis is Washington's top trade official at this week's Apec meetings in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, which conclude on Saturday and Sunday with a summit of leaders from the 21-member bloc.