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.