APEC Statements on Regulatory Reform, Green Trade, Supply Chains, Etc.
Various documents and joint statements have been issued as a result of the annual meeting of the 21 Ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which wrapped up on November 13, 2011. During the meeting, the Ministers agreed to adopt market-driven innovation policies, reduce tariffs and eliminate other barriers to trade in environmental goods and services, and improve regulatory environments to reduce unnecessary burdens on businesses.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Highlights of these documents and statements include:
Statement on regulatory reform, supply chains, green trade. The joint statement outlines specific initiatives to advance the three priority areas of expanding trade, promoting green growth and advancing regulatory convergence and cooperation. They agreed to actions on integration and trade, including by addressing next-generation trade and investment issues that a future Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific should contain. Other areas targeted for action include: improving supply chain performance by establishing de minimis values that exempt shipments from customs duties; developing by 2012 a list of environmental goods that contribute to green growth and sustainable development on which economies are resolved to reduce applied tariff rates to five percent or less by the end of 2015; and strengthening good regulatory practices by ensuring internal coordination of rule-making, assessing the impact of regulations, and conducting public consultations in APEC economies. (here) and (here)
Statement on WTO, Doha, protectionism. The Ministers recognized the current impasse in World Trade Organization Doha Round talks and stated that the upcoming December WTO Ministers meeting should focus on exploring fresh and credible approaches in accordance with the Doha mandate. Ministers also reaffirmed and extended their commitment through 2015 to refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing WTO-inconsistent measures in all areas. (here)
Governance and economic growth. The Ministers issued a joint statement on the meeting of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Open Governance and Economic Growth during the APEC talks on the importance of transparency and open governance. (here)
Disaster recovery. Ministers issued a statement calling on officials to work towards improving disaster resiliency, including by working with businesses to develop specific tools to help them prepare for natural disasters. (here)
APEC travel card. The APEC Secretariat issued a press release stating that business leaders welcomed new U.S. legislation, which the President signed into law on November 12, 2011, giving U.S. citizens access to the APEC Business Travel Card scheme, a crucial tool for business travel in the Asia-Pacific region. (here).
White House fact sheet on APEC outcomes. The White House has also issued a fact sheet on the various outcomes of the APEC Ministers meeting. (here)
(APEC’s member economies include: The U.S., Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, and Vietnam.)
(See ITT's Online Archives 11111413 for summary of USTR and other Ministers announcing the broad outlines of an agreement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during the APEC Ministers meeting.
See ITT's Online Archives 11111405 for summary of Japan announcing during the meeting that it would begin consultations with TPP countries towards joining the TPP negotiation talks and similar announcements of interest by Canada and Mexico.)