Trade pacts are building blocks to global trade: APEC
Trade pacts are building blocks to global trade: APEC
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (AFP): Regional and bilateral trade
arrangements should be viewed as "building blocks" to the
multilateral free trade system, not as destabilizers, Asia-
Pacific senior trade officials said here on Saturday.
The conclusion was reached after a three-day meeting of senior
trade officials and diplomats of the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum aimed at fine-tuning the agenda for a
summit of APEC leaders in Brunei in November.
"They stressed that bilateral and regional free trade
agreements should be seen as 'building blocks' for multilateral
trade and a complement to -- not a replacement for -- the global
system," said Lim Jock Seng, the permanent secretary at Brunei's
foreign ministry.
Lim, who chaired the meeting, noted that efforts towards
bilateral and regional free trade accords have increased after
negotiations for a new round of talks at the World Trade
Organization (WTO) stalled.
"The WTO process is not moving," he said in a news conference.
Singapore recently concluded a free-trade arrangement with New
Zealand, while other countries like Japan, South Korea and Chile,
among others, have been exploring the possibility of similar
agreements.
In addition, regions have agreed to establish their own free
trade areas, among them the ASEAN Free Trade Area and the North
American Free Trade Area.
Mitsuru Taniuchi, a deputy director-general at Japan's
economic planning agency, said a preliminary report by the APEC
economic committee which he heads showed the benefits from
bilateral free trade arrangements far outweigh the disadvantages.
"Generally speaking, the conclusion of the report is that
bilateral trade agreements can be building blocks for
multilateral trade," he told AFP.
Part of the reason is that the new regional and bilateral
trade arrangements go beyond the trading only of goods, which was
a defect in older arrangements because they led to charges of
protectionism, Taniuchi said.
Recent agreements however include provisions for market-
opening reforms, greater transparency and protection of
intellectual property rights -- elements required by the global
trading system.
"This aspect has the potential impact of inducing more
investment and creating more trade," he said.
Research have also shown that even non-members of free trade
arrangements have benefited from lower tariffs and the easier
flow of goods, he said.
Japan has been holding exploratory discussions with South
Korea, Singapore and Chile on a free trade accord, Taniuchi said.
"I think the Japan-Singapore talk is more at an advanced
stage. But in all of the cases, Japan has not agreed on any
formal agreements yet," he said.