APEC ministers agree to strive to launch WTO round

Asian Economic News, June 11, 2001

SHANGHAI, June 7 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH FORMAL STATEMENT AT THE END OF MEETING)

Trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Thursday expressed strong support for the November launch of a new round of multilateral trade talks under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In a statement issued after the end of the two-day talks here, the ministers from the 21 Pacific Rim economies said they agreed to call for the trade agenda to be ''balanced and sufficiently broad-based,'' a goal they said should be ''achievable.''

''Ministers agreed that the WTO ministerial conference to be held in November in Qatar presents an important opportunity for the expeditious launch of the new round in 2001,'' the chairman's statement said.

The statement said it is important for the WTO members to enhance internal transparency to facilitate the equitable and effective participation of all members in the multilateral talks.

''It is imperative for the WTO members...to work out in advance a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda as early as possible, which should be achievable and reflect the interest and concerns of all members, especially those of the developing members,'' it said.

The trade ministers also stressed the importance of working for continued progress in the ongoing WTO negotiations on agriculture and services, and of contributing to the WTO preparatory work on industrial tariffs and other related areas.

On the issue of China's accession to the WTO, the ministers welcomed the substantial progress made in the negotiation and urged for rapid completion of the process within 2001, the statement said.

China is hoping the range of APEC meetings it hosts this year will help accelerate its WTO accession effort.

On the world economy, the ministers noted economic growth has been slowing since the second half of last year, while demand in the information technology (IT) sector has become sluggish and some turbulence has appeared again in financial markets.

To inject vigor into their respective economies, ministers agreed to further enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation to promote free and open trade and investment, and take early action to prevent possible economic disturbance, the statement said.

During the two-day meeting, the ministers discussed various issues including economic and technical cooperation, APEC's effort to build up developing members' capacity to implement existing WTO agreements, the IT-driven new economy and cooperation to strengthen market functions.

Formed in 1989, APEC now groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.