U.S. asks Asia-Pacific to do more on services<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The United States stepped up its pressure on
\ncountries in the Asia-Pacific region to open up their services
\nsector, liberalize their procurement markets and eliminate
\nbribery practices.<\/p>\n
Addressing the American Chamber of Commerce yesterday, U.S.
\nSecretary of State Warren Christopher said that the country will
\nbring those issues to the World Trade Organization's (WTO)
\nupcoming ministerial conference in this December.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that the Singapore WTO ministerial meeting should
\ncommit to implementing the Uruguay Round and concluding a round
\nof the so-called unfinished business, particularly in services,\"
\nChristopher said.<\/p>\n
He was here to attend the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations (ASEAN) Regional Forum -- in which the United States is a
\ndialogue partner -- and the ASEAN Post Ministerial meetings that
\nended yesterday.<\/p>\n
Christopher underscored the importance of Indonesia in ASEAN
\nand the importance of the grouping to the United States. He
\nnoted that two-way trade between his country and ASEAN surpassed
\n$100 billion last year.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is the largest market in the group, which is
\nrapidly growing. Indonesia is a key focus of American agencies
\nwhich are to promote American economic interests in the region,\"
\nChristopher said.<\/p>\n
He noted that the United States and ASEAN will both benefit
\nfrom reaching agreements in 1997 that embrace standards of
\nopenness in two key service sectors, telecommunications and
\nfinancial services.<\/p>\n
Negotiations in both sectors have been slow. According to the
\ndeveloped countries, most developing countries are not making a
\nsignificant commitment to opening up the sectors.<\/p>\n
Christopher noted that the upcoming WTO meeting should also
\nbegin to set priorities for the early 21st century. He suggested
\nthat the WTO reduce or eliminate tariffs on high-tech products
\nand move forward on the comprehensive liberalization of
\ngovernment procurements.<\/p>\n
\"The U.S. has a very strong interest in opening procurement
\nmarkets in this region and around the world. And definitely we
\nwill make that a priority,\" Christopher said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the United States and ASEAN work closely
\nthrough the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum -- in
\nwhich the United States and six of the seven ASEAN countries are
\nmembers -- to encourage greater transparency in government
\nprocurement.<\/p>\n
In most developing countries, government procurements tend to
\nfavor domestic products over imported ones and bidding practices
\nfor government projects are often not transparent.<\/p>\n
\"We are now focusing on transparency in bidding procedures,
\nespecially in government procurement contracts. We will be doing
\nthat through the WTO and APEC,\" Christopher said.<\/p>\n
He again stressed that the WTO meeting should address the
\nrelationship between trade and core labor standards, a proposal
\nvehemently opposed by developing countries, including those
\nbelonging to ASEAN.<\/p>\n
\"We recognize that different countries have different
\ncomparative advantages and different stages of development,
\nincluding different wage levels. But we believe that there are
\nways to expand trade and protect workers at the same time,\" he
\nargued.<\/p>\n
Developing countries have opposed efforts to link labor
\nstandards with trade issues, contending that they could blunt
\ntheir comparative edge.<\/p>\n
Christopher also called on Asian countries, those in ASEAN in
\nparticular, to confront the reality of illicit payments for the
\nsake of transparent competition across the board.<\/p>\n
He noted that bribery practices in a number of Asian countries
\nhave caused tens of billions dollars in losses to U.S. firms
\noperating in the region.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and its major trading partners in the Organization
\nfor Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have agreed to
\ntake \"a concrete and meaningful step\" to stop illicit payments by
\ntheir firms.<\/p>\n
\"This is a provision of criminal transnational bribery of
\npublic officials... We will press all of our major trading
\npartners and competitors in OECD to carry out their commitments
\nthrough their national legislations,\" Christopher said.<\/p>\n
He then urged ASEAN countries, whose economies have entered
\nthe world market, to take tougher measures against the rampant
\nviolation of intellectual property rights.<\/p>\n
\"I urge ASEAN to toughen controls on intellectual property
\nrights, to reach an agreement on financial services, to open up
\ntelecommunications competition, to support air transport
\nthroughout the Asia-Pacific region, and develop fair and
\nconsistent guidelines for government procurement contracts,\"
\nChristopher said. (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-asks-asia-pacific-to-do-more-on-services-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}