Australian exporters can look forward to windfall gains after Asia-Pacific leaders paved the way for a free trade zone that could well out-muscle the economies of the European Union.

The deal, involving nine nations including Australia, came as the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum hailed the free trade agenda of the world's fastest growing region at their weekend summit in Honolulu, claiming a new political momentum was binding their economies more closely.

But not all differences between Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's (APEC's) 21 nations are likely to be bridged soon: the US and China remained out of step on a range of issues, while Canada said it was unwilling to sacrifice the interests of its farmers to join the emerging free trade bloc within APEC.