APEC to streamline customs procedures<\/p>\n
MANILA (UPI): The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's efforts
\nto streamline customs procedures between and among its 18 members
\nwill help increase trade in the region, an official said at a
\nthree-day meeting here ended yesterday.<\/p>\n
George Jereos, head of the Philippine delegation to the
\nmeeting of the APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures, said the
\nlose trade group is in the process of outlining specific measures
\nto streamline customs procedures and these include preparing an
\nadvance manifest prior to shipment of goods.<\/p>\n
\"When a vessel leaves a country, Australia for example, the
\ncontents of the manifest will already be electronically
\ntransmitted to the Philippines,\" Jereos told journalists.<\/p>\n
\"Philippine customs can already check which shipments, by
\ncertain parameters, should undergo 100 percent examination and
\nwhich are low-risk and therefore should be facilitated by way of
\nreleasing them immediately after payment of taxes.\"<\/p>\n
Jereos did not identify other measures being considered by the
\nsub-committee.<\/p>\n
The 7-year-old APEC hopes to completely open trade and
\ninvestments in the region by the year 2010 for industrialized
\neconomies and 2020 for developing ones.<\/p>\n
The group's 18-member economies are Australia, Brunei, Canada,
\nChile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New
\nZealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South
\nKorea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.<\/p>\n
The three-day Sub-Committee on Customs meeting that began
\nSaturday was set to discuss the issue of funding for the
\ncollective actions suggested by the group to facilitate trade and
\ninvestments through better customs procedures.<\/p>\n
The sub-committee previously completed a summary report of its
\nsuggested implementation schedules for each economy based on
\nfacilitation, accountability, consistency, transparency and
\nsimplification. It has surpassed all other sub-committees and
\nexperts groups in the accomplishment of tasks, mainly because it
\nhas spent more time with lengthy discussions, officials said.<\/p>\n
Canada and Japan previously submitted a framework for
\ntechnical assistance and human resources development. That
\nframework has enabled the sub-committee to complete a nine-point
\naction plan that includes the harmonization of tariff structure,
\ntransparency of customs procedures and protection of intellectual
\nproperty rights.<\/p>\n
The sub-committee's meeting is among those set immediately
\npreceding the three-day Senior Officials Meeting or Som starting
\nOct. 18.<\/p>\n
The sub-committee is under the Committee on Trade and
\nInvestment, which has been tasked to iron out details of how to
\nincrease economic activity and facilitate the flow of goods and
\nservices among member economies, foster cooperation to liberalize
\nand expand trade, and create a more open investment environment.<\/p>\n
The coming Som is the fourth and last formal meeting scheduled
\nbefore the 4th APEC Summit to be held in November at the Subic
\nBay Freeport Zone just north of Manila. Member-economies are
\nexpected to submit during the Som revised and perhaps final
\nversions of their individual action plans for breaking down trade
\nbarriers.<\/p>\n
The results of the four Soms would form the Manila Action Plan
\nfor APEC '96, which is expected to iron out the details of the
\nimplementation of agreements in two previous APEC Summits in
\nOsaka, Japan and Bogor, Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The Asia-Pacific region, with a combined output of US$13
\ntrillion, makes up about 56 percent of the world's gross domestic
\noutput and more than 46 percent of the world's total merchandise
\ntrade. About 40 percent of the world's population live in the
\nregion, which occupies 30 percent of the world's land area.<\/p>",
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