APEC ministers reticent concerning free trade

APEC ministers reticent concerning free trade

JAKARTA (JP): Many of the APEC ministers arriving yesterday
for their annual talks were tightlipped on their positions
regarding the regional free trade proposals.

The foreign minister of Japan Yohei Kono, Australia's Gareth
Evans and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor declined to
comment when they arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport.

Ministers from Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Hong Kong and
Thailand, however, said they were all for setting a deadline,
while the Malaysian delegation openly stated their opposition.

The time frame for regional free trade is a key issue in the
sixth APEC ministerial meeting which opens today and is slated to
close tomorrow.

APEC's Eminent Persons Group (EPG) has recommended that the
forum move to establish regional free trade by the year 2020.

The wealthier APEC members like the U.S. and Australia are
eager to see that the free trade area materialize by 2020 but
developing countries are more cautious in approaching the issue.

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah
Aziz, said setting a target year is "unrealistic".

"Everything that's not binding is not worth doing. It's
obvious now that few people want APEC to be binding because it's
not supposed to be," she told reporters.

Canadian Minister of Trade Roy McLaren believes the first step
to trade liberalization depends on the decision by the APEC
leaders when they meet at their retreat in Bogor next Tuesday.

The Bogor meeting "will be a major first step toward free
trade in the Asia Pacific region," McLaren said. "We believe that
important dates are to the beginning of the discussion rather
than when they conclude."

President Soeharto will host the Bogor meeting, which is
expected to produce a declaration charting the leaders' vision of
the future of APEC.

Canada, which favors free trade, has a two-track approach to
the issue. "On the one hand, much has to be done to facilitate
trade with the Asia Pacific, while on the other, many measures
also need to be taken to accelerate the implementation of the
Uruguay Round or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)."

New Zealand Foreign Minister Don McKinnon said he had high
expectations towards trade liberalization within the framework of
APEC.

Complex

He pointed out, however, that defining a timetable or a
finishing date would be a "complex" issue.

"We'll be talking about timetables, but whether or not they
are possible is another thing entirely," he said, adding that New
Zealand always has been in the forefront of trade liberalization.

McKinnon arrived with Minister of Trade Negotiations Philip
Burdon.

Also on the same Qantas flight with him were Australian
Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and Australian Minister of Trade
Bob McMullan, who declined to comment.

Canberra had earlier indicated that it is for setting a
timetable.

McKinnon said there was presently no finite solution to the
disagreements, but he pointed out that what was most important
was that APEC keep moving towards general liberalization.

Hong Kong Trade and Industry Secretary H.T. Chau said that
Hong Kong was very enthusiastic about the idea of free trade,
which would likely be established by 2020.

"As far as Hong Kong is concerned, we can start today or
tomorrow because we have a system that is already totally free,"
he said.

Like Singapore, Hong Kong does not have custom barriers.

"But of course we recognize that there are 18 members of APEC
and the stage of economic development is very different. We have
to take into account their position before we come into
consensus."

U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher was one of two top
officials to arrive at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. The other
one is Brunei's Foreign Minister Prince Mohamed Bolkiah.(team)

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