APEC and to free trade<\/p>\n
The meeting last week of leaders from 18 Asian Pacific
\ncountries in Osaka, Japan, ended with what seemed like a whimper.<\/p>\n
The leaders committed their governments to voluntary measures
\nthat would be announced at next year's gathering to lower
\nbarriers to foreign trade and investment. The commitment appeared
\nsmall next to the bold declarations at last year's Asia Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation (APEC) forum that its members would create a
\nfree-trade zone by 2020.<\/p>\n
But it was obvious then that some leaders did not mean what
\nthey had said. Malaysia, Japan and several other countries
\nlobbied successfully in Osaka for a loosely-worded agreement that
\nperpetuated disagreement over key questions, such as whether APEC
\nhad agreed to a binding deadline for eliminating protection from
\nagriculture and other sensitive industries.<\/p>\n
Free trade is a pleasant goal, but for these countries it is
\nsimply premature.<\/p>\n
China is a good example. Its closed borders, contempt for
\npatent and copyright protections and lack of legal protection for
\nforeign investors make it ineligible for membership in the World
\nTrade Organization, the new entity that oversees rules of fair
\ntrade.<\/p>\n
A declaration by China that it plans to move toward free trade
\nlacks credibility. Besides, the best way for Asian Pacific
\ncountries to achieve free trade is through the World Trade
\nOrganization rather than creating a separate trading bloc that
\ndiscriminates against all excluded parties.<\/p>\n
This year's meeting focused instead on useful steps to
\nharmonize customs forms, adopt common product safety standards
\nand eliminate other specific trade impediments. Japan and others
\nalso promised to speed up tariff reductions and other trade-
\nliberalizing measures that were already under way.<\/p>\n
The most sweeping promises came from China. It pledged to
\neliminate import quotas on about 170 products and to cut tariffs
\nnext year on thousands of items. That is a welcome step in its
\ncampaign to qualify for World Trade Organization membership. But
\nChina must do much more to achieve conformity with the
\ninternational trading community. For starters, it must strictly
\nenforce legal protections for traders, investors, authors and
\ninventors.<\/p>\n
The meeting was unspectacular but encouraging. The Pacific
\ncountries are moving slowly toward freer trade, while giving up
\nthe pretense that they will drop all trade barriers anytime soon.<\/p>\n
-- The New York Times<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-and-to-free-trade-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }