U.S. not to raise human rights issue in APEC Summit

U.S. not to raise human rights issue in APEC Summit

JAKARTA (JP): The U.S. administration will not raise human
rights or democratic questions during the meeting of leaders of
the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) here in November,
says a visiting U.S. official.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sandra O'Leary said
here yesterday that APEC would not discuss topics other than
economic and trade issues during the summit meeting.

"APEC is an economic organization... and the agenda of the
meeting is also to be focused on economic issues," she told a
two-day U.S.-Indonesia Trade and Investment Conference.

The conference, co-sponsored by the American Chamber of
Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin), was officially opened by Indonesia's
Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto Tuesday
evening.

Speakers at the two-day conference also included Robert Barry,
the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and Nancy Patton, the U.S.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for East Asia and Pacific.

O'Leary stressed that it would be better not to discuss
aspects other than economic issues during the next APEC summit.

She, however, said that the U.S. delegation, which would be
led by President Bill Clinton, would have a number of meetings
with APEC member countries, which could be used to discuss
bilateral issues.

Human rights and democratic problems in developing countries
are important aspects of the Clinton administration's foreign
policy, she said, adding that the U.S. delegation will have the
opportunity to address the problem bilaterally outside the APEC
formal meetings.

Unfair

O'Leary denied that the U.S policy to link trade to the
quality of labor of its trading partners as another form of
unfair trading practice.

"We are talking about internationally accepted labor
standards, not raising minimum wages," she said when questioned
about Washington's prolonged review over the Generalized System
of Preference (GSP) facility granted to Indonesia.

Under the GSP scheme, a wide range of Indonesian products
qualify for duty free treatment. Around US$640 million worth of
Indonesian goods or 14 percent of its total exports to the United
States benefit the scheme annually.

The U.S. government has put Indonesia's GSP status under
review over the past year amidst allegation that Indonesia was
denying workers rights.

Indonesian economists, however, said that Washington's concern
over the poor quality of labor is another form of non-tariff
barriers aiming at curbing the inflow of cheap products into that
country.

The U.S. government is now undergoing a final investigation
about the Indonesian labor conditions before deciding the fate of
the Indonesian GSP incentive.

Nancy Patton, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State,
said that one of the Clinton administration's commercial policy
priorities is to strengthen economic relations with four Asian
emerging markets -- China, South Korea, India and Indonesia.

"Indonesia has been put as a test case and a number of
programs have been on the agenda," she said of the U.S.
government's approaches in improving trade ties with Indonesia.

Information

The U.S. commercial information center will soon be opened in
Jakarta to accommodate the needs of American and Indonesian
businessmen, she told the conference.

Patton said a number of seminars had also been undertaken to
encourage American businessmen to invest in Asia, in addition to
a 24-hour business information service provided by the U.S.
Commercial Department, she said.

Patton said that the possibility of providing financial
facilities is also under study.

Asked if the U.S. delegation will also launch "commercial
diplomacy" during the next summit, such as that by U.S. Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown during his recent visit to China, she said it
could be and the deal to be signed might be much higher than
those by Brown.

Brown was reported to have signed trade agreements worth US$5
billion during his Chinese trip.

Patton said that the expected business deals will cover
infrastructure and energy but she declined to elaborate.

Sources said during Clinton's Indonesian visit, Exxon
Corporation of the United States will sign a hefty business deal
on the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) around Natuna
Islands in the South China Sea, the northern path of North
Sumatra province.(hen)