APEC accepts U.S. offer on social safety
APEC accepts U.S. offer on social safety
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has accepted a U.S. offer to explore how member countries can cooperate to provide social safety provisions to crisis-stricken countries, a senior official said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters following a two-day preparatory senior officials meeting, APEC senior official Maarten Wevers said the organization plans to give high priority to this area in the light of Asia' s economic crisis.
The U.S. has yet to offer a structured proposal on the issue, given the parameters and scope have yet to be defined, Wevers said. But, he added that a proposal would explore mechanisms to deliver services related to education, health and housing in times of crises.
Wevers said the proposal by the U.S. is expected to be worked on by a task force ahead of APEC meetings in February, which New Zealand will chair.
The recent two-day meeting in Singapore also reflected APEC's desire to "hit the ground running" before the next meeting in New Zealand next year on tasks and directions set in Kuala Lumpur last month during the economic leaders' meeting and joint ministerial meeting.
On the early voluntary sector liberalization, or EVSL program, Wevers said the organization is looking at how to broaden support within the framework of the World Trade Organization. He said it's still too early to comment on support for the package, adding that it's less than two months before senior officials next meet.
At APEC's 1997 summit in Vancouver, under the EVSL package, it was proposed that tariffs on environmental goods and services, fish and forestry products, medical equipment, telecommunications, energy, toys, gems and jewelry, and chemicals be lifted before 2005.
Wevers also said that officials agreed in Singapore to commission the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council to assess the progress so far by member countries on their individual action plans.
While Wevers said he couldn't comment on the work program of finance ministers, he said discussions are underway among the Group of 22 nations on such issues as international capital markets and the operation of hedge funds.
The meeting in Singapore, which also saw agreement on priority being given to initiatives to cope with the financial crisis, saw for the first time new members Peru, Russia and Vietnam participating at the senior official level, he added.