Trans-Pacific Partnership

Debating free trade in paradise

I know why economic summits are always held in beautiful tourist towns. If not, no one from the media would want to go.

When I was told about the assignment to Honolulu, Hawaii to cover the Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC), my colleagues immediately expressed jealousy, even mild disdain for my good fortune. Here is the secret though; no one likes to cover these things. Very little news is made, the limited availability you're given to talk to leaders usually results in the same scripted sound bites. But the biggest reason by far is that Free Trade Agreements are incredibly hard to understand and even tougher to explain on television.