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.