APEC adopts plan for early trade liberalization
APEC adopts plan for early trade liberalization
SINGAPORE (AFP): APEC senior officials wound up talks here yesterday by adopting a set of guidelines to identify priority sectors for early trade liberalization at the group's summit in Vancouver, Canada, next month.
The guidelines will be submitted to APEC trade ministers scheduled to meet before the summit to determine which of the 41 identified sectors should be liberalized earlier than scheduled under the grouping's timetable for free trade and investment by 2020.
"We agreed that the ministers will take the decision on what sectors to put forward to leaders for early action. This is a decision, we believe, must be taken at the political level," said Leonard Edwards, Canada's assistant deputy minister for trade and economic policy.
Edwards was speaking to reporters after chairing a two-day meeting of senior officials to lay the groundwork for the APEC summit.
According to the guidelines, sectors would be chosen based on the level of support received by the 18 APEC economies, benefits to their trade and economy and a balance between removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers and economic cooperation, Edwards explained.
The 41 sectors were consolidated from 61 proposals that were tabled earlier and included such sectors as chemicals, fish and fisheries products, environmental products and services, forestry and engineering products, toys and gems.
"The number of nominations are down from 60 to 40 and they are all improved. We had agreed to put this higher quality product to the trade ministers' meeting before they are put to the leaders," Edwards said.
The sectors were offered by the APEC economies for the so- called "early sectoral voluntary liberalization" under the grouping's proposed second route for member economies to achieve free trade and investment.
APEC ministers, aided by the guidelines, would further trim the sectors for liberalization earlier than those promised under a free-trade blueprint adopted at the group's 1996 summit in the Philippines.
The blueprint requires the 18 member economies to begin dismantling tariffs from January 1, 1997 to achieve free trade and investment by 2020.
Developed economies such as the United States and Japan should achieve the target 10 years earlier.
APEC trade ministers briefly discussed the early liberalization plan when they met in Montreal, Canada, in May following a suggestion by the APEC leaders at their 1996 summit.
APEC's proposal for early sectoral liberalization stemmed from the group's success last year in sewing up a pact to scrap tariffs on information technology (IT) products. It set the pace for a World Trade Organization agreement to eliminate tariffs on most IT products by 2000.
Edwards also said that APEC economies were improving on their "individual action plans" (IAP's) in which they have pledged to tear down tariff and non-tariff barriers on products at their own pace.
Unlike the IAP's, the early sectoral voluntary liberalization would be a collective effort by APEC.