Asia-Pacific leaders call for trade talks in 2001

Asia-Pacific leaders call for trade talks in 2001

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Agencies): Asia-Pacific leaders gave a
significant boost to the cause of global trade liberalization on
Thursday, calling for a new round of trade talks under the World
Trade Organization in 2001.

In a statement at the end of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum summit in Brunei, leaders of the
grouping's 21 economies reaffirmed their commitment to a fair and
rules-based multilateral trading system" in what they called an
"era of globalization.

They reiterated that there is a need to expeditiously launch
a new WTO round for the benefit of all WTO members, particularly
least developed and developing economies.

"We agree that a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda
that responds to the interests and concerns of all WTO members
should be formulated and finalized as soon as possible in 2001
and that a round be launched in 2001," the leaders added.

"We share the concern that globalization has its downside,
too. Some are being left behind," the host of the Brunei summit,
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, said at its conclusion. "Disparities
between the rich and the poor continue to grow and many people
are at risk of being marginalized."

"We simply cannot have a world in which the knowledge-based
economies are all racing along the information superhighway while
less-developed economies struggle with disease, famine and
poverty," the sultan said.

The question of whether APEC's 21 member economies should call
for a trade round to start next year has been hotly debated at
the APEC meetings over the last few days.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand have pushed hard
for firm dates for the start of a new round, while others,
including Malaysia and South Korea, have said there was no point
setting target dates until an agenda was agreed.

Many Western countries are anxious to see a new trade round
launched as soon as possible to regain the momentum after the
collapse of the WTO talks in Seattle last December, when anti-
capitalist demonstrations led to the closing of the city amid
rioting.

Advocates of free trade say the removal of tariffs, barriers
to business and restrictions on the movement of goods and on the
provision of services around the globe will bring prosperity to
all.

Critics of the trend towards globalization -- the creation of
a single world marketplace -- say the main beneficiaries of free
trade are the rich countries and big businesses.

The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s showed how
vulnerable some societies were to economic contagion through an
open door policy and dulled some of the free trade ardour.

"There are a few countries that have tried to force their own
values, economic regime and social system on other countries by
taking advantage of economic globalisation," Chinese President
Jiang Zemin told fellow summiteers.

He said a balance was needed as "economic globalisation is an
objective requirement" which will foster development and peace.

Trade barriers sometimes help poorer countries defend and
develop their markets, they argue.

Mercantilist ideals have been a hallmark of APEC since its
inception in 1989, but APEC, which geographically ranges from
Russia to Chile and economically from Japan to Papua New Guinea,
does not promulgate binding agreements.

Several countries, aside from the United States, who want to
forge ahead, have chosen to take the bilateral free trade route
as extra insurance, because multilateral talks were taking time.

Singapore, along with Australia and New Zealand, is trying to
spin a web of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) criss-
crossing the Pacific.

APEC's avowed goal is free trade between all its developed
economies by 2010 and all its emerging economies by 2020.

APEC leaders called for a quick conclusion to negotiations for
China's entry to the WTO in 2001, and backed Taiwan's proposed
entry. They also leant support to Russia and Vietnam for their
eventual membership.

The leaders' statement also called for "appropriate measures"
to promote stability in the oil market in the interests of
consumers and producers and for an increase in oil supplies to
promote long-term price stability.

The host for this year's APEC summit, the tiny sultanate of
Brunei, is a major oil producer, as are neighboring Malaysia and
Indonesia.

Other APEC members, such as Japan, are huge consumers and
importers of oil, while the United States is both an oil producer
and the world's biggest oil consumer.

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