APEC's credibility depends on its concrete actions<\/p>\n
The Strait Times, Asia News Network, Singapore<\/p>\n
The APEC summit in Shanghai last Sunday turned out to be a
\nproductive affair. On the economic front, leaders of the 21
\nPacific Rim economies all pledged to press on with trade
\nliberalization and reforms. They will support the launching of
\nnew global negotiations at the World Trade Organization. They
\nadopted the so-called Shanghai Accord to give the Asia-Pacific
\nEconomic Cooperation forum economies a new road map to guide them
\ntowards freer trade.<\/p>\n
Politically, they did something unprecedented by taking an
\nunequivocal stand against terrorism. Beyond their condemnation of
\nthe Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in America, they called for a
\nbigger United Nations' role to combat terrorism. This was an APEC
\nsummit like no other in that the politics of terrorism and its
\nramifications, not just APEC economics, hogged the limelight.<\/p>\n
These are exceptional times, yes, but a word of caution is in
\norder. APEC must stay focused on its primary task of fostering
\neconomic growth, and not stray into political minefields. The
\nlast thing APEC leaders want to do is turn it into a political
\nforum.<\/p>\n
U.S. President George W. Bush, attending his first APEC
\nsummit, sought support for America's war against terrorism. He
\nrallied APEC leaders to his cause and got as much as he possibly
\ncould from them.<\/p>\n
Significantly, the leaders' statement on counter-terrorism
\nneither mentioned nor endorsed the U.S. military strikes in
\nAfghanistan. This underlines the caution, if not misgivings, some
\nAPEC leaders felt about America's campaign, which has stoked
\nanti-U.S. protests in Indonesia and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Happily, the spectacular fireworks display that China put up
\nfor APEC leaders on the summit's eve was not replayed in their
\ntalks. To be sure, they had differences, but these did not become
\nstumbling blocks at the summit. This is a remarkable show of APEC
\ncohesion in trying times.<\/p>\n
The uncertainties caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and
\nfears of global recession helped to concentrate minds. Going by
\nthe pledges, there is, apparently, political will among them to
\nget on with liberalization to achieve their free-trade goal by
\n2020.<\/p>\n
True, many of their differences over trade and other issues
\nwere papered over. But the fact that all the APEC leaders
\nattended the Shanghai summit, save Taipei's boycott to protest
\nagainst its level of representation, is an important political
\nstatement in itself.<\/p>\n
APEC leaders endorsed the Shanghai Accord, which is
\nessentially a bid to prod APEC to move faster towards its free-
\ntrade goals. It commits APEC economies to speed up reforms and
\nliberalize trade through greater transparency, peer reviews of
\naction plans, and constant stock-taking to check the backsliders
\nand speed up the slow-movers.<\/p>\n
All this is fine. APEC leaders now have to match words with
\ndeeds. Its secretariat in Singapore should be strengthened to
\nnudge the economies along with, say, half-yearly open reviews to
\npromote the Apec spirit of voluntarism.<\/p>\n
Without demonstrable political will to tear down trade
\nbarriers, APEC's credibility will be questioned. Left to their
\nown devices, some APEC economies have been complacent or, worse,
\nthey backtrack. This means that APEC must really get serious to
\nstay relevant, and there is no better time to do it than now.<\/p>\n
To get started, try lowering the costs of doing business in
\nAPEC economies by five percent over the next five years, as the
\naccord proposes.<\/p>\n
Liberalize customs and visa procedures. Stick faithfully to
\ntariff-cutting schedules. These are the nuts and bolts of free
\ntrade. Get moving.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apecs-credibility-depends-on-its-concrete-actions-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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