APEC gives go-ahead to anti-SARS, antiterrorism plan

APEC gives go-ahead to anti-SARS, antiterrorism plan

Associated Press, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Asia Pacific trade ministers on Tuesday approved an emergency
plan to protect their economies from SARS and terrorism, and
pledged to strengthen global free trade.

Ending a two-day meeting, the ministers of the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum issued an "action plan" to combat
SARS, which has severely hit five of the grouping's 21 members:
China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Canada.

"APEC must...respond quickly and effectively to this
challenge," the action plan says.

The centerpiece of the plan is to establish common health
screening measures at borders and airports, pre-departure and
arrival screening, informing each other about their SARS cases
and medically advanced countries giving assistance to other
members.

"I am very happy that APEC is addressing this as a group. SARS
has impacted business quite considerably among APEC members,"
said Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah
Aziz.

She said APEC would also like to see the business community
overcome its fear of SARS and allow executives to travel. The
disease has killed more than 770 people globally.

According to the Asian Development Bank, economic growth rates
across Asia have dropped because of the disease.

The SARS plan also calls for a public relations campaign to
boost tourism by giving travelers an honest picture of the
situation in each member country, while allaying any needless
fears of the disease.

"The fear of SARS is more harmful than SARS itself. The
unwarranted fear of SARS has deterred people from traveling,
depressed the tourism and transport sectors and eroded confidence
in regional trade and investment," the plan notes.

The ministers also assured each other that SARS will not be
used as a pretext for protectionism or raising non-tariff
barriers.

On terrorism, the ministers expressed "deep concerns" on its
economic consequences, particularly for developing economies,
according to a separate joint statement by the ministers.

The ministers also welcomed the Secure Trade in the APEC
Region initiative, known as STAR, which requires countries to
install new baggage screening machines and other security
equipment by 2005.

Last week, APEC set up a Counter-Terrorism Task Force and
Action Plan to offset the impact of attacks on trade and tourism.
But some developing economies are worried that the increased
expense of fighting terrorism would eat into their budgets.

The joint statement said richer countries will help the poorer
countries by providing them with essential security equipment.

The ministers made it clear that "security in the APEC region
must be applied across all economies," the statement said.

During their meeting, the ministers also discussed APEC's role
in strengthening the World Trade Organization, which will hold a
ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in September.

The ministers "reaffirmed the importance of supporting an
open, rules-based, multilateral trading system under the World
Trade Organization," the statement said.

Many countries fear that the Cancun round will be a failure
because of disagreement over agriculture subsidies between the
U.S. and Europe.

The U.S. has set ambitious goals to liberalize farm trade,
while the European Union has asked for a more gradual approach.

Rafidah, the Malaysian minister, said the hard-line positions
are harming global trade.

"Unless there is real seriousness...to move away from those
hard-line positions...I don't think much can be achieved in
Cancun," she said.

The U.S. and Europe have failed to agree on a proposed WTO
compromise that called for a reduction of up to 60 percent in
import tariffs on agricultural goods, a reduction in domestic
subsidies to farmers, and a full phase-out within 10 years of
subsidies that directly support agriculture exports.

APEC consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia,
Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.