United States looks to APEC for economic promise

United States looks to APEC for economic promise

The reality of today's global economy is that the center of
economic gravity has shifted away from the traditional industrial
economies of the Atlantic to the dynamic, innovative ones of the
Pacific Rim.

The U.S. commitment to deepening its economic involvement in
the Asia-Pacific region goes well beyond the fact that Asia is
America's largest trading partner, with total trade exceeding
US$374 billion, or 63 percent greater than U.S. trade with
Europe.

An estimated 2.6 million American jobs depend on U.S. exports
to Asia, and the percentage of U.S. jobs reliant on expanding
U.S. trade and business ties with Asia should grow rapidly in
the years ahead. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation also
absorbs more than US$145 billion of U.S. investment, or about 30
percent of the total U.S. foreign direct investment.

Top Clinton administration officials have time and again
stressed that trade with the Asia-Pacific region will be at the
center of U.S. trade strategy for many years to come.

"Our commitment to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) and to promoting trade liberalization, both regionally and
globally, is unwavering," Sandra O'Leary, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Economic Policy at the State Department's Bureau of
East Asian and Pacific Affairs said in October of this year.

She added that the administration's commitment to APEC and
trade liberalization is "a priority that has bipartisan support".

"I think that there has been a big change, and a change for
the positive, in the United States and in the U.S. economy,"
O'Leary said. "We recognize today, as we have never before, that
our own economic well being is inextricably tied to our full
engagement in the global economy. Trade is a major source of jobs
growth. Trade is a major source of technological advancement."

Hopes

The Clinton administration places high hopes on the ongoing
second APEC leaders meeting in Jakarta for ironing out several
issues related to trade and trade facilitation.

Terming APEC a "major pillar" of U.S. policy in the Asia-
Pacific region, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business
and Agricultural Affairs Joan Spero said in July that the APEC
Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM) will work on a number of
subjects.

"One is the progress toward discussion of how to facilitate
and promote trade in the region," Spero explained. "The Trade and
Investment Committee has taken up this work this year. So we see
that APEC has great promise in the trade promotion, trade
facilitation, trade liberalization areas."

The Clinton administration supports the growth of APEC as an
institution, Spero added. "APEC is growing in the density and in
the intensity of its action and we are very supportive of that.
So all in all, we look forward to a very successful meeting.
It's going to be a major landmark in the Clinton's
administration's Asia policy this year."

Trade with APEC nations is marked for priority, Spero told
reporters at a separate gathering in October in Washington, D.C.

"Trade with Asia, the world's fastest growing region, remains
front and center in our overall economic strategy," she said.
"Through the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), APEC
and our bilateral economic dialogs, we are working to pave the
way for U.S. business to seize the opportunities in Asia's
economic boom. Our economic future requires greater U.S. business
involvement in Asia."

Financial issues

The emergence of APEC as an important building block for a
global approach to trade has also spurred a rethinking of
financial issues.

APEC is a pioneering model for consensus-building that is
well-suited for dealing with the region's financial issues, U.S.
Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen said at the APEC Finance
Ministers Meeting in Honolulu last March.

"We face some of the same basic challenges: sustaining growth
with low inflation, financing high rates of private investment,
improving infrastructure, and strengthening our financial
sectors," Bentsen said. "That is why we need to consult and to
cooperate in identifying successful economic strategies for the
future."

Bentsen added that a "broadened perspective" is needed to
promote trade and finance. "This kind of economic performance
cannot be sustained in a vacuum. We all share an interest in
economic strength for the region as a whole."

He cautioned that despite high domestic savings rates in the
Asia-Pacific region, external financing requirements are high and
getting higher, and APEC must address this trend. Another
important component for developing a sound macroeconomic
environment, sound legal and prudential frameworks, and
information for investors, Bentsen added.