APEC trade ministers meeting opens

APEC trade ministers meeting opens

Agence France-Presse, Jeju, South Korea

Trade ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) met here on Thursday for free trade talks as global trade negotiations falter amid conflicts of interest.

Organizers said the main agenda would include a fresh commitment by APEC to further trade liberalization under the Doha new round of free trade negotiations, as well as regional cooperation in trade and investment.

In 1994, APEC leaders at Bogor, Indonesia, set the goal of reaching a free trade and investment agreement by 2010 for developed economies and by 2020 for developing economies

However, an official close to APEC said these targets look hard to meet.

"In order to meet the Bogor goals, it is crucial to facilitate trade in both goods and services, including e-commerce, and to unify industrial standards among APEC members and ease immigration procedures for businessmen," he said.

"The endorsement of the Doha Development Agenda by APEC, which accounts for 57 percent of the world's gross domestic product, is a key to success in the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations."

The WTO's 148 members are trying to complete the Doha Round of trade liberalization after four years of stumbling talks.

Members launched negotiations in the Qatari capital in 2001, aiming to further break down tariffs and other barriers to commerce and to try to use trade to give developing countries a boost.

But the WTO summit in Cancun, Mexico, collapsed in 2003 amid a split between rich and poor countries although members have since agreed to a loose deal to help drive the talks forward.

WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi has repeatedly urged members to step up efforts to conclude their long-delayed treaty by 2006.

By the end of next month, they hope to have shaped a wide- ranging accord to be put on the table at a ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December.

The two-day gathering in Jeju, a southern resort island of South Korea, will also allow members to hold bilateral meetings on free trade agreements.

U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman is scheduled to meet with China's Commerce Minister Bo Xilai on Friday amid an intensifying trade row over U.S.-imposed restrictions on Chinese textile exports.