Asia-Pacific nations split on free trade<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Reuters): Pacific Rim countries struggled
\non Friday to agree a common platform on global free trade talks
\nahead of a summit of the region's leaders next week.<\/p>\n
The United States, Canada and New Zealand all pressed for the
\n21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to agree
\ndates next year for negotiations under the auspices of the World
\nTrade Organization (WTO), officials said.<\/p>\n
But several other nations, including Malaysia and South Korea,
\nargued against any specific time commitment for the talks in the
\nwake of last year's fiasco in Seattle when a WTO meeting
\ncollapsed amid riots and anti-globalization demonstrations.<\/p>\n
A document prepared for APEC ministers and obtained by Reuters
\non Friday said the final communique of APEC leaders after their
\nmeeting on November 15-16, should support the goal of a new WTO-
\nled trade round starting in 2001.<\/p>\n
APEC ministers meet on Sunday and Monday, and the summit on
\nThursday and Friday will be attended by, among others, U.S.
\nPresident Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.<\/p>\n
The document said APEC should: \"Commit to strengthening
\ncooperation as we strive for (the) launch of (a) WTO round in
\n2001 for the benefit of all WTO members particularly least
\ndeveloped and developing economies.\"<\/p>\n
But it was not clear if this paragraph would be included in
\nthe final document to be published on November 16.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. is pushing aggressively for a clear and concrete
\nprogram for launching a new round,\" Thailand's Economic Affairs
\nDepartment Director-General Kobsak Chutikul told reporters.<\/p>\n
A senior Western diplomat told Reuters there was \"a very
\ncredible argument\" for \"some sharp language\" in the statement to
\ndemonstrate the group's commitment to trade liberalization, but
\ndeclined to forecast what language would finally emerge.<\/p>\n
A senior U.S. State Department official for APEC, Lawrence
\nGreenwood, told reporters: \"I think there is broad support for an
\nearly launch of the new round. We are working out the details on
\nhow we portray that and what we ourselves want.\"<\/p>\n
But another senior APEC official said APEC's common platform
\non WTO was \"a little bit shaky.\"<\/p>\n
\"It is very difficult to get a consensus on a trade round.\"
\nSome Asian countries are in no hurry to liberalize their markets
\nand say APEC credibility could be damaged if it called for a
\nstarting date for trade talks and that target wasn't met.<\/p>\n
They want a more cautious approach in committing to a specific
\ntimeframe for a new round of global trade talks.<\/p>\n
Asia is still suffering from the catastrophic effects of a
\ndeep recession that followed the regional currency crisis of 1997
\nand 1998 and this has encouraged protectionist sentiment.<\/p>\n
\"I have very serious doubts about anything shaping out of
\nBrunei, because there is not yet any sign of a credible agenda
\nthat is of interest to both developed and developing countries,\"
\nInternational Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz told a
\nnews conference in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Meetings on Friday revealed few other serious disputes and
\nwound up after just one day instead of continuing for two days as
\nplanned, senior APEC officials said.<\/p>\n
The APEC document confirmed earlier reports APEC leaders would
\nlay down ambitious plans in Brunei next week to bridge what they
\ncall the \"digital divide\" to help poor nations benefit from the
\ninformation technology revolution that is already dramatically
\nchanging the developed world.<\/p>\n
The United States and Japan have been transformed by the
\ncomputer revolution of the last decade. But the membership of
\nAPEC -- representing almost half the world's trade and 60 percent
\nof global output -- contains some much poorer nations such as
\nThailand, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n
APEC leaders want their annual gathering to be a springboard
\nto help developing nations take advantage of the new technology.<\/p>\n
\"If there is one key issue that will come up, it will be on e-
\ncommerce and information technology (IT),\" a senior U.S. State
\nDepartment official told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Mitsuru Taniuchi, chair of the APEC Economic Committee and a
\nsenior official in Japan's Economic Planning Agency, said APEC
\nofficials were worried the gap between rich and poor in
\ninformation technology could become a barrier to free trade.<\/p>\n
\"One of the top concerns is this digital divide,\" he said.
\n\"Because of lags in advances in information technology, some
\neconomies are not prepared to ride on the digital wave.<\/p>\n
Other topics at APEC include ways to cushion members from the
\nimpact of high oil prices, with stockpiles one of the
\npossibilities being mentioned, and currency volatility.<\/p>",
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