APEC unresolved on info technology

APEC unresolved on info technology

By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat & Prapti Widinugraheni

MANILA (JP): APEC senior officials were still wrestling with
an accord yesterday aimed to free trade on information technology
products through the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Federico Macaranas
said yesterday the issue would be taken up today by ministers of
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

"The Joint Ministerial Meeting will be discussing the matter,"
he said at the end of an informal APEC senior officials meeting.

The United States is pushing the forum to adopt an information
technology agreement to eliminate tariffs in this sector by the
year 2000.

Supporters of this initiative argue that further
intensification of technological and development cooperation
would require rapid exchanges of information which could only be
facilitated by liberalizing information technology.

APEC's endorsement of such an initiative would give strong
political impetus for the WTO to adopt an information technology
agreement.

While APEC members have expressed their general support for
the liberalization of information technology, several countries
have indicated their reluctance to formalize the initiative.

The Indonesian foreign ministry's director general for foreign
economic relations, Sumadi Brotodiningrat, revealed yesterday
that senior officials had different perceptions on how support
for the initiative should be stated.

He said some countries wanted it declared within the final
joint ministerial statement while others, like Indonesia, did not
think it was necessary to stipulate it as an individual theme but
as part of the forum's overall liberalization plan.

APEC ministers begin their eighth annual meeting here today
and are expected to produce three major documents by the end of
their meeting tomorrow. The documents are expected to lay down a
course of trade liberalization for member states.

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

"We can accept the liberalization of information technology
products in APEC," Sumadi said, adding that it should not be
singled out unduly.

He said some countries wanted to place such a clause
"everywhere" in the documents formulated for the ministerial
meeting.

Macaranas said that apart from the actual format of the
support for the initiative, APEC officials were yet to draft a
statement with suitable language for China and Taiwan who are not
members of the WTO.

Many economies are extremely interested in the liberalization
of information technology. But the problem is that some members
are still outside the WTO, which causes differences in
priorities, Macaranas said.