APEC forum agrees to publish deregulation reports<\/p>\n
FUKUOKA, Japan (AFP): The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
\n(APEC) forum has agreed to publish reports to show the private
\nsector the economic deregulatory steps taken by members,
\nofficials said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The agreement among senior APEC officials followed an
\nIndonesian proposal submitted late last year to the 18-member
\ngroup's trade and investment committee, currently chaired by
\nSouth Korea, they said.<\/p>\n
"Members agreed that it would be useful to have the reports on
\nderegulation measures taken by member economies compiled and
\ndisseminated to the business community," the officials said in a
\nreport summarizing their three-day meeting here to prepare for
\nthis year's summit in Osaka.<\/p>\n
The report said the move could be considered as a
\n"downpayment" in the context of trade liberalization. APEC
\nleaders last year called on industrialized members of the group
\nto liberalize trade and investment in the region by 2010, with
\ndeveloping economies following no later than 2020.<\/p>\n
One member of the trade and investment committee said the
\ngroup hoped to work out a "consistent reporting format" for all
\nmembers to follow in listing the unilateral steps taken to
\nderegulate their economies.<\/p>\n
He said a comprehensive report would then be published by the
\nAPEC secretariat in Singapore, showing the measures taken by all
\nmembers, with the first issue hopefully available by the end of
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
"It's an attempt to describe clearly where we are and where
\nwe're going," said the official, who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n
Among APEC members, Indonesia and Thailand have been
\nparticularly active in deregulating their economies in recent
\ntimes. Economic deregulation has also become one of the top
\npriorities for the current Japanese cabinet although little
\nprogress has been made so far.<\/p>\n
While details of the plan have yet to be worked out, the
\nofficial said members might offer to report, for example, details
\nof tariff-cutting measures or liberalization of services, which
\ngo beyond their commitments in the Uruguay Round of global trade
\nnegotiations ratified last year.<\/p>\n
Infrastructure<\/p>\n
The officials also agreed to launch a special dialog with the
\nprivate sector on regional infrastructure problems.<\/p>\n
The officials said the dialog would be held before October,
\nidentifying problems and taking stock of regional infrastructure,
\nespecially in the areas of telecommunications, transport and
\nenergy.<\/p>\n
The agreement to accept Indonesia's proposal for the dialog
\ncame during the first round of talks between senior APEC
\nofficials this week to prepare for the group's annual ministerial
\nmeeting and summit in Osaka in November.<\/p>\n
APEC members were urged to comment on the Indonesian plan by
\nthe end of April before the second round of talks in Sapporo in
\nJuly.<\/p>\n
Indonesia proposed identifying infrastructure bottlenecks and
\nassessing the current and potential contributions of the private
\nsector by May, in addition to looking at problems with investment
\nin such areas.<\/p>\n
The proposal called for "strong business sector" involvement
\nin the dialogue with as many as two people from each of the 18
\nmembers of APEC along with representatives of the Pacific
\nBusiness Forum, officials said.<\/p>\n
An official from one APEC country said the dialogue would be
\noverseen by Canada, the current chairman of the group's newly-
\nformed economic committee, with input from related ministers and
\nworking groups.<\/p>\n
APEC already plans to hold talks between telecommunications
\nministers in South Korea at the end of May, while the United
\nStates is hosting a meeting of transport ministers and related
\nbusiness representatives in June.<\/p>\n
Canada is hosting a meeting of APEC's telecommunications
\nworking group next week. In addition, China is holding talks
\nbetween members of the APEC transportation group in April
\nfollowed by a meeting of the regional energy cooperation group in
\nMay.<\/p>\n
Japan is meanwhile hosting an experts meeting on energy
\nforecasts in April, grouping both the public and private sectors.<\/p>\n
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
\nKong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
\nZealand, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Taiwan,
\nThailand and the United States.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-forum-agrees-to-publish-deregulation-reports-1447893297",
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