4TH LD: APEC ministers conclude talks, endorsing FTA best practices

Asian Economic News, Nov 24, 2004

SANTIAGO, Nov. 18 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING, ADDING FRESH INFO)

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum wrapped up two days of annual ministerial talks Thursday, endorsing ''best practices for free trade agreements'' and condemning terrorism, saying it threatens regional prosperity.

Foreign and trade ministers from the 21 APEC economies also gave full backing to an August framework agreement on global trade liberalization talks under the World Trade Organization.

The ministers welcomed the best practices for FTAs as part of efforts to bolster the WTO talks and have APEC economies achieve the goal of freeing up trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and by 2020 for developing economies.

The best practices, seen as guidelines to better shape future FTAs in the region, are nonbinding and should serve only as references, according to the ministers.

APEC leaders are to adopt the best practices in their two-day talks starting Saturday.

In a joint statement issued after the talks, the ministers welcomed the start of WTO negotiations for trade facilitation and pledged to contribute to supporting the talks, given APEC's ''practical and vast experience in the area.''

''Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the improvement of and liberalization within the multilateral trading system,'' the statement says, noting they see the August framework accord as a ''breakthrough'' for the Doha round.

On security, the ministers reconfirmed that ''terrorism is a threat to human security, stability and growth in the region and the imperative need to combat terrorism.'' They also condemned the terrorism that took place in Russia and Indonesia and reiterated their commitments to fight terrorism.

The ministers agreed on the need to tighten export controls to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, including rocket launchers.

Japan and the United States were particularly keen on pushing the strict export controls, according to Japanese officials.

All participating ministers agreed there is a need to implement counterterrorism measures and some ministers from developing economies proposed that dialogue between people of different religions is necessary to promote mutual understanding and eliminate potential sources of terrorism, the officials said.

The ministers also ''recognized the need for cooperation among member economies on the supervision of imported and exported food in order to prevent and better respond to possible bio-terrorist attacks, including attacks through toxic or hazardous material in food supplies,'' the statement says.

The APEC ministers agreed it is necessary to introduce machine-readable passports by 2008, with biometrics if possible, in all APEC member economies in an effort to tighten security, the statement says.

Regarding infectious diseases such as AIDS, SARS and bird flu, the ministers agreed that outbreaks of such diseases ''have profound impact'' on both the peoples and economies in the region.

On recent crude oil price surges, the APEC ministers noted the economic impact on the region's economies and endorsed the so-called CAIRNS Initiative, or Comprehensive Action Initiative Recognizing the Need for Strengthening the APEC Energy Security Initiative.

The initiative, based on a proposal from Tokyo, covers short- to long-term measures in energy security.

Short-term measures include reinforcing the collection of oil statistics data and strategic stockpiling. Mid- and long-term measures cover expanding and facilitating natural gas trade, boosting energy efficiency and developing recyclable energy sources.

The ministers agreed that APEC needs to enhance anticorruption measures and endorsed the Leaders' Agenda to Implement Structural Reform for adoption by their leaders. The agenda designates priority areas such as regulatory reform, competition policy and corporate governance.

One minister said political issues have become dominant in recent APEC talks and APEC members should take developing economies more into consideration.

During a lunch after the morning session, the ministers talked about the feasibility of forging an APEC-wide free trade agreement in the future -- a proposal by Pacific Rim business leaders.

The APEC leaders scheduled to attend the summit talks include Chinese President Hu Jintao, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush.

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

With a combined population of more than 2.5 billion, the APEC region accounts for about 60 percent of world gross domestic product and 47 percent of world trade.