Officials prepare for APEC ministers' talks on freer trade+

SAPPORO, June 3 Kyodo -
Senior officials from Pacific Rim economies assembled in Hokkaido on Thursday
to make last-minute preparations for the upcoming APEC trade ministers' meeting
that will focus on their past efforts and a future direction toward freer trade
and investment.
The 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has a consensus that
major progress has been made to attain its goals of free trade and investment
in the region, and officials discussed how to come up with a ''credible''
assessment report on the matter, a key task for APEC this year, Japanese
government officials said.
In line with topics expected to be discussed at the ministerial level, they
also exchanged views on APEC's future vision, including an envisioned strategy
that would ensure economic growth in APEC as a whole and the idea of creating a
region-wide free trade zone.
The officials also affirmed the need for APEC to send a positive message to
seek an end to the deadlock in the Doha Round of global market-opening talks,
which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.
Amid political instability in Japan triggered by Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama's announcement Wednesday that he will resign, Japanese senior
officials chairing the two-day gathering from Thursday assured participants
that the situation would not affect the international event, saying, ''Japan
will carry out its responsibility,'' according to the government officials.
Japanese ministers in charge of trade and foreign affairs are scheduled to
co-chair the APEC trade ministers' meeting on Saturday and Sunday in Sapporo,
marking the start of a series of APEC ministerial meetings in Japan this year.
Masayuki Naoshima is currently the economy, trade and industry minister and
Katsuya Okada the foreign minister, but it is not yet clear whether the two
will retain their posts in a new Cabinet to be led by Hatoyama's successor, who
is expected to be elected Friday.
Among participants from abroad, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has canceled
his visit to Japan because he sustained minor injuries in a traffic accident,
his office said. Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis will lead
the U.S. delegation.
The discussions in the series of APEC meetings, to be held at locations across
Japan, are expected to pave the way for top leaders of the member economies to
issue an annual joint statement at their summit in November in Yokohama.
One of the priorities for APEC throughout the year is to assess progress toward
achieving the so-called ''Bogor Goals,'' which set trade and investment
liberalization targets for developed members by 2010 and for less-developed
members by 2020.
Naoshima said earlier this week that ''the biggest issue'' at the trade
ministers' talks will be the Bogor Goals assessment.
Final approval of the evaluation is expected to be sought at the November
summit. The Bogor Goals were named after the Indonesian city where APEC leaders
reached the agreement on them in 1994.
Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States are subject to the
assessment this year, along with other economies that have volunteered for
early assessment -- Chile, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico,
Peru, Singapore and Taiwan.
As for the issue of regional economic integration, the trade ministers are
expected to hold discussions in relation to exploring ''possible pathways'' to
a proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, or FTAAP.
However, it remains uncertain how quickly they can build a consensus on an
FTAAP, with some members, especially China, cautious about the idea. The
concept is not yet clearly defined.
APEC, which accounts for half the world's global economic output and 44 percent
of its trade value, also involves Russia and some of the countries that belong
to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
==Kyodo