Action plans fail the test

Business Asia, Sept 30, 1999

Significant steps taken by APEC members towards achieving the Bogor goals are not fully reflected in members' Individual Action Plans (IAPs), according to a review by the Pacific Economies Cooperation Council (PECC).

IAPs are the mechanism used by APEC members to record their progress towards achieving the Bogor goals of free trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.

The review finds that in some key areas APEC is on track toward the Bogor goals. However, progress varies across the 15 policy areas of the Osaka Action Agenda and significant challenges remain at the economy and sectoral level.

"The IAPs do not fully reflect the real progress many APEC economies have made towards the Bogor goal because their commitments and policies are not reported comprehensively," the report claimed.