APEC might form unilateral FTA: Official<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation member countries are
\ndisplaying a growing tendency in favor of establishing a
\nunilateral free trade agreement in the vast region, according to
\na senior official at the Ministry of Trade.<\/p>\n
The ministry's director general for international cooperation
\nPos M. Hutabarat said on Monday that as more APEC countries
\nestablished bilateral FTAs, there was a debate going on about
\nwhether to push this trend further to a unilateral agreement.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Singapore, for example, have signed a bilateral
\nFTA.<\/p>\n
\"APEC has been all about building corridors for facilitating
\nbilateral talks, but now I see a tendency to push for a full APEC
\nfree trade area. A unilateral agreement,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, it was not immediately clear whether the
\nestablishment of a unilateral FTA would result in APEC meetings
\nthat would involve binding negotiations.<\/p>\n
Leaders from 21 Asia Pacific economies will meet in Santiago,
\nChile, on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21 for the 12th APEC Economic Leaders'
\nMeeting.<\/p>\n
APEC has been a non-binding negotiating forum, with no
\nsanctions being imposed on countries that refuse to implement the
\noutcome of APEC meetings.<\/p>\n
\"Thus, we have no specific trade targets for coming meeting,
\nbut merely seek ways to establish bilateral FTAs with fellow
\nmembers,\" Pos told reporters after signing a Memorandum of
\nUnderstanding on technical assistance from the government of
\nCanada.<\/p>\n
Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Randolph Mank, together with
\nPos, signed an MOU outlining Canadian assistance to Indonesia
\nunder the C$6.4 million APEC Economic Integration Program, which,
\namong other things, is aimed at enhancing the knowledge and
\nskills of government officials responsible for dealing with World
\nTrade Organization (WTO) affairs.<\/p>\n
The money is available to APEC members Indonesia, Thailand,
\nthe Philippines, Vietnam, and two non-APEC countries, Laos and
\nCambodia. But it is not clear how much money Indonesia will
\nactually get.<\/p>\n
\"This project is in response to APEC leaders' support for
\ncapacity building to help developing member countries integrate
\ninto the world economy and improve growth prospects,\" Mank said.<\/p>\n
According to Pos, Indonesia lacked capable trade negotiators
\neven though the country faced more international trade
\nnegotiations in the future.<\/p>\n
\"In the Ministry of Trade, we only have around ten
\nnegotiators. We hope to have at least 50 new negotiators when the
\nprogram ends in 2009,\" he said, adding that the program would
\nalso train negotiators from other relevant ministries, such as
\nthe Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture.<\/p>\n
He said that the Ministry of Trade might also facilitate
\ntraining for a limited number of journalists covering
\ninternational trade issues.<\/p>\n
Pos said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was likely to
\naddress the upcoming APEC meeting as Indonesia currently heads
\nthe APEC working group on security. This could be Susilo's first
\noverseas trip since becoming the country's President.<\/p>\n
\"The meeting is also a perfect occasion for the President to
\nmeet other leaders without having to visit their respective
\ncountries,\" Pos said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apec-might-form-unilateral-fta-official-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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