ID :
126116
Sat, 06/05/2010 - 13:54
Auther :

APEC effectively achieves 1994 free trade goals: draft report+



SAPPORO, June 4 Kyodo -
Developed economies and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum have so far effectively achieved their self-imposed goals of free trade
and investment, set 16 years ago, a draft gist of a report the forum plans to
issue this year showed Friday.
Referring to the so-called ''Bogor Goals'' which in part set a trade and
investment liberalization target for developed members by 2010, the gist
obtained by Kyodo News said significant strides have been made in such areas as
tariff reduction, proliferation of free trade agreements and increased trade
and investment.
This sense of fruition may be affirmed during the APEC trade ministers' meeting
to be held in the capital of Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on
Saturday and Sunday.
One of APEC's priorities throughout the year is to assess progress toward
accomplishing the ''Bogor Goals,'' which also call on less-developed members to
try to realize free and open trade and investment by 2020.
The economies that have so far cleared the targets are Australia, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand and the United States, which are subject to assessment this
year, together with others that have volunteered for early assessment -- Chile,
Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Taiwan.
But the gist of the assessment report also made it plain that APEC members
should continue striving to materialize free and open trade and investment,
given that there are still unidentified issues that need work.
Japanese Foreign Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama said Friday the average applied
tariff rate among member economies was reduced to 6.6 percent in 2008, compared
with 16.9 percent in 1989 when the forum was launched, underscoring the
region's trade liberalization efforts.
''We have seen substantial tariff rate reductions in the APEC region. This may
be one kind of consensus hopefully reached at...the trade ministers' meeting,''
Kodama told reporters.
On Friday, senior officials of APEC's 21 economies ended a two-day gathering in
Sapporo to lay the groundwork for the ministerial talks this weekend.
Japan, which assumed the rotating chair of the APEC forum this year, hopes to
seek final approval of the evaluation at the summit meeting scheduled for
November in Yokohama.
The 21 member economies have been working toward achieving the goals under an
action plan adopted in the western Japan city of Osaka in 1995, which calls for
actions in a total of 15 areas including tariffs, investment and intellectual
property rights.
The goals have no specific numerical targets. APEC is known for operating on
the basis of nonbinding commitments.
==Kyodo
2010-06-04 23:29:35


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