APEC may press ahead with liberalization despite crisis

APEC may press ahead with liberalization despite crisis

KUCHING, Malaysia (Reuters): Asia-Pacific ministers will press
ahead with efforts to free up trade at a meeting in Malaysia next
week despite an economic crisis that has rocked Asia, delegates
said on Wednesday.

Trade ministers from the 18-nation Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum meet in Kuching city on Borneo island on
June 22-23 in their final run-up to the annual APEC summit, set
for mid-November in Kuala Lumpur.

Senior officials will lay the groundwork for the trade
ministers at a two-day session starting yesterday.

The ministers are expected to draw up a plan for accelerated
liberalization in nine sectors and reach an agreement on
electronic commerce, officials said.

"There is satisfactory progress at the initial officials
meeting. The focus is on EVSL," an official from the APEC
secretariat in Singapore told Reuters.

"There seems to be some pullback by Asian countries, like
Indonesia, which are badly affected by the economic crisis, but
the sentiment on the whole is for liberalization," he said.

At last year's summit in Vancouver, APEC leaders agreed that
member economies would set targets and deadlines for accelerated
liberalization in nine sectors by this June.

The nine sectors due for "early voluntary sectoral
liberalization", or EVSL, are environmental goods and services,
fish and fish products, forest products, medical equipment and
instruments, telecommunications mutual recognition agreement,
energy, toys, gems and jewelry and chemicals.

"The economic crisis is an issue, but it is unlikely to
overshadow the liberalization process. But at the moment, only
preparatory work is going on. The decision will be with the
ministers," said an Australian delegate.

The year-long regional crisis has thrown many fast-growing
Asian economies into a tailspin, pushing down stock prices,
undercutting currency values and eroding firms' profits.

Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, all members of APEC, had
to seek multi-billion dollar rescue packages from the
International Monetary Fund.

Tiger economies

Many Asian economies are expected to contract this year.
Foreign investors, whose funds helped transform the nations into
"tiger economies", are showing no desire to return in any
significant way after fleeing last year.

Earlier this month, APEC telecommunications ministers endorsed
a mutual recognition agreement, which officials said set the
stage for liberalization in other sectors.

The telecommunications ministers urged that priority be given
to developing Internet-based electronic commerce to promote trade
and investment among APEC economies.

The APEC senior officials are expected to prepare a draft
which would then be forwarded to the ministers.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and
the United States.

Peru, Vietnam and Russia, which are scheduled to join APEC at
the November summit in Kuala Lumpur, are participating in the
ministerial meeting as observers.