APEC officials head for free trade accord
APEC officials head for free trade accord
OSAKA, Japan (AFP): Senior officials of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum yesterday tied up loose ends for a last-minute accord on free trade as differences between Beijing and Washington threatened to spill over into ministerial talks.
The summit's success had been threatened by differences over the treatment of sensitive sectors such as agriculture, which some members wanted to exempt from the agreement.
A senior official said the latest draft, agreed after a one- and-a-half day informal meeting, removes references to "differential treatment" and "sectoral specificity," code words among international trade negotiators for agriculture.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the new draft, while continuing to emphasize the need for flexibility in liberalizing trade and investment, also took into account "diverse circumstances" among APEC members.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.
Tony Miller, director general of Hong Kong's trade department, said the flexible approach would not undermine the spirit of the Bogor declaration.
"We don't regard flexibility as something which is going to in any way inhibit the comprehensive nature of this exercise," Miller told reporters.
"The whole liberalization process is to be conducted in accordance with the Bogor declaration, which specifies non- discrimination and in particular open regionalism," Miller said.
But despite broad agreement on the latest draft, dispute emerged between China and the U.S. over the application of non- discriminatory trade.
"There is still a wide gap between China and the United States," Japanese trade and industry minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told reporters, adding: "This issue will most likely have to be dealt with by the ministers."
The dispute relates to China's Most Favored Nation (MFN) status, annually reviewed by the U.S. as required for communist countries by its laws.
Beijing wants the non-discriminatory rule applied to all APEC members,, including itself.
Under an agreement reached by APEC leaders last year at a summit in Bogor, Indonesia, industrialized members are supposed to achieve free and open trade and investment in the region by 2010 with developing members following by 2020.
Japan and a minority of the group's 18 members including China, South Korea and Taiwan had been seeking special treatment for sensitive sectors such as agriculture.
Other members including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S. argued that any such concession could lead to exceptions in a multitude of other areas.
The senior official said South Korea was still unhappy with the lack of allowances for agriculture in the draft, but indicated Taiwan had accepted the compromise and hinted Japan was ready to accept.
Hasmimoto, however, suggested there was still work to be done. "We still have some troublesome problems," Hashimoto said.
"We agreed to comprehensiveness in Bogor last year, but we did not agree to specific sectors," he said.
Japanese officials said Hashimoto had told Rizalino Navarro, Philippines' trade and industry secretary, "there is still room for further discussions" between members before the ministerial meeting, which formally begins tomorrow.