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.