Malaysia blames APEC for stalemate over farm trade
Malaysia blames APEC for stalemate over farm trade
SINGAPORE (AFP): Malaysia yesterday blamed the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum for the current stalemate over
freeing farm trade in the Pacific, saying it ignored members'
views.
"If you do not listen to everyone's views, then you are in the
risk of taking APEC where the members don't want to go and
forcing issues down people's throats," International Trade and
Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said.
Rafidah said the split in APEC over exempting sectors such as
agriculture from trade reforms could be traced to the forum's
1994 summit in Indonesia "which did not take into account the
rumbling of dissent" among members.
"So now because they did not listen to these concerns early
enough and wanted to push through all the technicalities that go
with the liberalization, they find that they are stuck," she
said.
APEC's 18 leaders agreed at the 1994 summit in Bogor to aim
for overall free trade and investment by 2020, with developed
economies aiming for 2010.
But Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad alone submitted
a list of reservations to the Bogor accord, making him the odd
man out at the summit. He said the target dates of 2010 and 2020
should not be binding.
APEC's blueprint -- called an Action Agenda -- for
implementing the Bogor commitments is to be debated by the
leaders in Osaka, Japan later this month.
Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan are now seeking to be
allowed special treatment in sensitive sectors such as
agriculture. But most of the 18 members claimed different
treatment for sensitive sectors would undermine last year's
agreement.
Rafidah, speaking to reporters after signing an investment
pact with her Singapore counterpart Yeo Cheow Tong, said some
countries did not voice their feelings during the Bogor meeting
although they were skeptical about the free-trade deadlines.
"Now they are beginning to speak up at officials' meeting and
want liberalization but not on anybody's terms," she said.
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.
Rafidah also hit out at APEC's "promoters" for their optimism
in wanting to prise open Japan's lucrative rice market.
"For seven-and-a-half years the whole world wanted to open the
Japanese rice market and we didn't succeed in the Uruguay Round.
What makes the APEC promoters feel they can do it in one year at
these meetings of officials of APEC?" she asked.
"That is living in the world of dream and the Japanese agree
with me."
Rafidah said the United States was "only being practical" when
it admitted recently there was a "deep fracture" within APEC over
the issue of exempting agriculture from trade reforms.
Sandra Kristoff, the U.S. ambassador-designate to APEC, warned
last week that some APEC members might even leave the grouping if
the farm issue remains unresolved.
"At last some people are being practical about it, especially
the U.S. is now seeing it the way it is, and not glossing over
things with declarations that sound so good," Rafidah said.