APEC agrees to simplify customs procedures<\/p>\n
MANILA (Agencies): Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic
\nCooperation (APEC) forum have agreed to simplify and harmonize
\ncustoms procedures to ease trade and investment flows, a senior
\nPhilippine official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Antonio Basilio, deputy chairman of an APEC senior officials'
\nmeeting being held in Manila, said the measures would help lower
\nthe costs of doing business in the region.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the collective actions are in the nature of business
\nfacilitation measures which will have the effect of lowering the
\ncost of doing business,\" Basilio was quoted by Reuters as saying.<\/p>\n
He said APEC was also compiling a database on customs
\ninformation which includes the applied tariff rates for all
\nproducts being traded by its 18 member economies.<\/p>\n
The first version of the database will be available next year
\nand in 1998 will be expanded to contain information on customs
\nprocedures and non-tariff measures.<\/p>\n
Basilio said APEC members were also working on setting up an
\nelectronic system to by 1999 to process imports and exports.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, officials said that a U.S. proposal to free trade
\nin information technology by 2000 has won broad outline support
\nfrom the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.<\/p>\n
Senior APEC officials told AFP there was a consensus on the
\nneed for the U.S.-proposed Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
\nduring an APEC Committee on Trade and Investment which met
\nThursday evening.<\/p>\n
But he and other APEC officials said details of the accord
\nsuch as the products to be covered by the ITA as well as the time
\nframe will be discussed later.<\/p>\n
\"The agreement is that there should be an ITA,\" a southeast
\nAsian delegate who attended the committee meeting said.<\/p>\n
A Filipino delegate, who attended the meeting, confirmed the
\nSoutheast Asian official's statement, saying the United States
\nwas able to convince skeptics about the need for an ITA.<\/p>\n
Senior APEC officials are attending a three-day meeting which
\nstarted here Friday to hammer out outline agreement on regional
\nfree trade goals and other issues ahead of an APEC summit in the
\nPhilippines next month.<\/p>\n
Formal approval<\/p>\n
Despite the broad support, Antonio Basilio, deputy chairman of
\nthe senior officials' meeting, told a news briefing said he did
\nnot expect the ITA to be formally approved before the APEC
\nsummit.<\/p>\n
Basilio said there was \"greater understanding, more
\nreceptivity\" among APEC members to the proposal and that the ITA
\nhas been scheduled for discussion on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The U.S. proposal calls for a \"phased reduction\" of all
\ntariffs on information technology products, now ranging from zero
\nto 60 percent, to eliminate them by January 1,2000.<\/p>\n
Items covered would include computer hardware like parts and
\naccessories, semiconductors and integrated circuits, computer
\nsoftware, telecommunications equipment and semiconductor
\nmanufacturing equipment.<\/p>\n
A U.S. document circulated to officials here said agreement on
\nthe ITA in APEC would serve as a \"strong impetus\" for further
\nliberalization in the sector at a World Trade Organization (WTO)
\nmeeting in Singapore next month.<\/p>\n
\"We are happy with the discussions we are having this week,\"
\nJohn Wolfe, Washington's coordinator and ambassador to APEC, told
\nAFP.<\/p>\n
APEC sources said Washington wanted a consensus on the ITA
\nreached before the WTO ministerial meeting in Singapore, saying
\nit wanted to present the deal as a model for a global accord on
\ninformation technology.<\/p>\n
The U.S. proposal acknowledged that \"there may be costs
\nespecially for the less developed of APEC economies\" in the near
\nterm but stressed that \"in the medium and longer terms, the
\nbenefits are significant.\"<\/p>\n
It added that a consensus on the ITA would be a \"win-win
\nsituation for APEC economies.\"<\/p>\n
Some developing APEC economies had earlier expressed caution
\nover the U.S. proposal, citing the disparity between the rich and
\ndeveloping APEC members.<\/p>\n
APEC operates through a consensus, meaning all 18 members must
\nagree on a policy before it is deemed approved. All agreements
\nreached by the senior officials are to be recommended to the APEC
\nleaders for final approval.<\/p>\n
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
\nKong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
\nZealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan,
\nThailand and the United States.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-agrees-to-simplify-customs-procedures-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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