APEC meetings seek to unlock stalled WTO negotiations

Source: Xinhuanet | 11-12-2006 18:40

World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations will continue to be of great importance for the APEC meetings which start in Hanol on Sunday as the APEC member economies seek to find a way forward, Vietnam's deputy foreign minister said Sunday morning.

Speaking at the beginning of the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Concluding Senior Official's Meeting (CSOM), which is to be followed by the APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 15-16 and APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 18-19, Le Cong Phung, also chair of the CSOM, said APEC can lead the way for all members of the WTO to reignite negotiations and conclude the Doha Development Agenda next year.

During the CSOM, senior officials from member economies will discuss the adoption of APEC Model Measures for Free Trade Agreements and guidelines to secure supply chains against counterfeit and pirated goods to unlock the stalled WTO negotiations.

"APEC members provide an accurate gauge of global economic views and ideas, so if APEC can identify a way forward this path will most likely be suitable to the broader WTO membership," he said, adding that representatives of APEC member economies based in Geneva have been working on a solution and senior officials will be updated on this progress.

Phung said APEC senior officials will also consider the adoption of model measures that can be used by member economies in the negotiation of Free Trade Agreements and Regional Trade Arrangements (FTAs/RTAs).

"There are more than 20 FTAs and RTAs in force in the APEC region and more under negotiation," he noted.

Phung said the member economies are working to ensure that a " spaghetti bowl" effect of having so many differing agreements does not undermine regional business environment and unduly increase transaction costs. "APEC model measures will increase transparency of new FTAs and RTAs and will be of particular benefit to member economies while negotiating their FTAs/RTAs."

Ministers of the member economies will also consider model measures that cover areas such as rules of origin, transparency, cooperation and others in the 18th APEC Joint Ministerial Meeting slated for Nov. 15-16.

Advancing multilateral trade and high quality FTAs/RTAs are important components of one of the main objectives for the 18th meeting and the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting slated for Nov. 18-19 in Hanoi: the release of the Hanoi Action Plan which provides the detail required to implement last year's Busan roadmap to achieve the APEC Bogor goals.

"The plan will have core components that include support for the multilateral trading system, strengthening of Individual Action Plans and Collective Action plans (CAPs/IAPs), high quality FTAs/RTAs, and strengthening of business activities in the region and capacity building," Phung said.

For business to thrive in the region, APEC members have an obligation to ensure the business environment is conducive to growth, he said, noting that the Hanoi Action Plan will provide clear direction on a range of areas that include trade facilitation, private sector development, the digital economy and intellectual property rights, investment facilitation, transparency and anti-corruption, secure trade, structural reform and pathfinder initiatives.

Editor:Lu Yuying