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1. Ministers from Australia; Brunei Darussalam;
Canada; Chile; the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong,
China; Indonesia; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia;
Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Republic
of the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese
Taipei; Thailand; the United States and Viet Nam participated
in the Thirteenth Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai on 17-18 October 2001. The
APEC Secretariat was present. The Association of South-East
Asia Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation
Council (PECC), and the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) attended
as observers.
2. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr.
Tang Jiaxuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and H.E. Mr. Shi
Guangsheng, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation,
of the People's Republic of China. The theme for APEC 2001
was: "Meeting New Challenges in the New Century: Achieving
Common Prosperity through Participation and Cooperation".
The agenda of the meeting was structured to reflect the three
sub-themes of APEC 2001: a. Advancing Trade and Investment;
b. Sharing the Benefits of Globalization and the New Economy;
and c. Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth.
3. Since the end of last year, the slowdown
in the United States, Japan and Europe has dampened the prospect
of global and regional economy, with some members in the region
affected considerably by the declining global demand. The
recent terrorist attacks in the United States risk undermining
some industries as well as consumer confidence. In the face
of the less favorable global and regional economic environment,
Ministers affirmed their confidence in the medium and long-term
prospects of growth in the APEC region and agreed to strengthen
cooperation to tackle the short-term economic difficulties.
In this connection, Ministers reaffirmed the importance of
promoting dialogue and cooperation with a view to achieving
sustainable and common development. In addition, Ministers
emphasized the importance of achieving the Bogor goals in
accordance with the agreed timetables as a key element of
APEC's response to current economic conditions, and stressed
the importance of structural reform and sound domestic policies
to create a more favorable macro-economic environment for
growth in the region.
Advancing Trade and Investment
Strengthening the multilateral trading
system
4. Ministers firmly underlined their
commitment to open regionalism and strong support for an open,
equitable, transparent and rules-based multilateral trading
system, as represented by the WTO.
5. Ministers reaffirmed the strong commitment
to launch the WTO new round of multilateral trade negotiations
in 2001. Given the global economic slowdown, Ministers agreed
on the critical importance and urgency of successfully launching
the round at the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference to reenergize
the global trading system.
6. Ministers called on parties concerned
to demonstrate strong political will and flexibility in agreeing
on a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda to launch
the new round, which should include further trade liberalization
and the strengthening of WTO rules and reflect the interests
and concerns of all members especially those of the developing
ones,address the challenges in the 21st century and support
the goal of sustainable development. Ministers urged that
the new round focus on trade-related issues, including existing
WTO rules and not duplicate the work of other international
organizations. They further agreed that internal transparency
within WTO will facilitate the participation of all members.
7. Ministers reaffirmed that the concerns
of developing economies should be addressed through the effective
implementation of special and differential treatment and ongoing
effort for capacity building and technical assistance so as
to facilitate their full participation in the WTO.
8. Ministers reaffirmed APEC's determination
on expediting the full and effective implementation of the
Uruguay Round agreements and commitments, and called on the
WTO to give due consideration to the concerns of members,
especially developing ones, on the implementation issues emanating
from the Uruguay Round agreements and commitments when formulating
the agenda for the new round.
9. Recalling previous Leaders' Declarations
and Ministerial Statements, Ministers reaffirmed that APEC
would actively and constructively contribute to the mandated
WTO negotiations on agriculture and services.
10. Ministers reiterated their commitment
to continuing to contribute to the WTO work on industrial
tariffs and other related areas, without prejudice to the
overall agenda for negotiations.
11. Ministers agreed to continue mobilizing
APEC's expertise to maintain and enhance the momentum of the
WTO negotiations on services. In this respect, they recognized
the progress made in 2001 on the APEC Menu of Options for
Voluntary Liberalization, Facilitation and Promotion of Economic
and Technical Cooperation in Services Trade and Investment,
which will continue in 2002. Ministers expected this work
to make an important contribution to the on-going WTO negotiations.
12. Ministers undertook to refrain from
using measures that increase levels of trade protectionism.
To this end, they reaffirmed their commitment to the APEC-wide
moratorium on the imposition of custom duties on electronic
transmissions until the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference,
and agreed to extend the moratorium until the Fifth Ministerial
Conference. Ministers also supported a vigorous continuation
of the WTO's work program on E-commerce.
13. Ministers reaffirmed the importance
of the implementation of APEC WTO-related capacity building
Strategic Plan, as an unique, substantial and value-adding
contribution to strengthening the participation of developing
economies in the multilateral trading system, improving the
implementation of existing commitments, and building confidence
for a WTO new round. They recognized the initiative as a concrete
example of the way in which technical and economic cooperation
in APEC and the policy commitment to trade liberalization
can be mutually reinforcing. In this regard, Ministers commended
progress made on a number of projects and noted that twelve
TILF projects in support of the plan have received funding
this year. They stressed the need for new projects to be accorded
continued priority in allocating the APEC TILF fund in accordance
with the established TILF approval process, decided that both
developed and developing members would continue to prioritize
as appropriate the plan in the developmental programs, and
affirmed the importance of involving bilateral development
agencies, relevant regional and international organizations
including WTO, ADB and World Bank in implementing the plan.
14. Ministers congratulated China on
the successful conclusion of negotiations on its accession
to the WTO. They urged that China's accession be finalized
at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference. Ministers also
reiterated strong support for approval of accession to the
WTO by Chinese Taipei at that Conference and the advancement
of WTO accession by the Russian Federation and Viet Nam. Ministers
supported the participation of all acceding economies in the
new round of WTO negotiations.
Trade and Investment Liberalization
and Facilitation (TILF)
Individual Action Plans
15. Reaffirming the central role of Individual
Action Plans (IAPs) in achieving APEC's trade and investment
liberalization and facilitation goals, Ministers commended
the refinements and improvements made to the e-IAP system
to enhance its functionality and user friendliness. They also
welcomed the presentation of 2001 IAPs by member economies
in the e-IAP system and recognized the usefulness of delivering
further technical assistance in their preparation. Ministers
encouraged member economies to publicize the new e-IAP system
to their business communities and work with the private sector
to ensure that the system meets its needs. They commended
the Russian Federation for the submission of its IAP for peer
review this year.
16. Acknowledging the need for the IAP
peer review process to be further strengthened, Ministers
endorsed the proposal for strengthening the IAP peer review
process, including organizing the IAP Review Teams to conduct
studies of economies under review. The new process is aimed
at increasing the rigor of the peer review regime and encouraging
member economies to make greater progress in achieving the
Bogor Goals. They affirmed that the principle of voluntarism
should be respected. For this purpose, they decided to use
the APEC funding including the TILF special account through
the funding approval process. Ministers welcomed the offer
made by Mexico and Japan to submit their IAPs for review under
the new peer review process in 2002. They also called on other
member economies to actively participate in this process.
Review of OAA Part I
17. As a major roadmap providing the
guidelines for achieving the Bogor Goals, the OAA must remain
relevant for APEC to face the emerging global challenges and
to seize new opportunities in the new century. Ministers thus
endorsed the updated OAA Part I, which reflects the new changes
and developments in the area of trade liberalization and facilitation
since 1995. The major elements include a commitment to progressive
reduction of tariffs until the Bogor goals are fully achieved,
a commitment to progressively reducing NTMs to the maximum
extent possible to minimize possible distortion to trade,
and a commitment in the services area to provide for the fair
and transparent development, adoption and application of regulations
and regulatory procedures in regulated service sectors. Ministers
further underlined the strategic significance of the updated
of OAA Part I in providing a long-term framework for advancing
to APEC TILF agenda. Ministers encouraged member economies
to take the updated OAA Part I into account when updating
their IAPs for 2002 and beyond.
Collective Action Plan
18. Ministers approved and endorsed the
Annual Report of the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI)
and the revised/enhanced Collective Action Plans (CAPs) it
contains. Emphasizing the importance of the CAPs in ensuring
APEC is on track towards Bogor Goals, Ministers welcomed the
commendable progress CTI made in implementing CAPs in 2001
and highlighted some key achievements, which included, ? the
further expansion of the CAPs to intensify work on Non-Tariff
Measures (NTMs); ? the completion of APEC Principles on Trade
Facilitation; ? the completion of the new CAPs on Intellectual
Property Rights; ? the completion of the review and revision
of the Mid-term Technical Infrastructure Development Program;
and ? the completion of an assessment/evaluation of the thirteen
SCCP CAP items.
19. Ministers welcomed the progress report
and its achievements from the APEC Automotive Dialogue and
encouraged the Dialogue to continue its work. They took note
of the ongoing reform and economic and technical cooperation
activities in the automotive sector. Ministers also took note
of the establishment of the Chemical Dialogue and welcomed
Mexico's offer to host the first Chemical Dialogue in 2002.
20. Ministers welcomed the report APEC
Economies Breaking Down the Barriers: Case studies in regulatory
and administrative reforms, which indicated that the reforms
undertaken by APEC members had generated significant economic
benefits. Ministers also noted the importance of adopting
the revised Kyoto Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization
of Customs Procedures, and encouraged the adoption of the
Convention at the earliest possible opportunity.
21. Ministers directed CTI to continue
to give priority in its 2002 work program, to producing tangible
deliverables in CAPs, as envisaged in the Osaka Action Agenda.
22. Ministers welcomed the success of
the Second APEC Investment Mart held in Yantai, the People's
Republic of China, during 9-15 June 2001. They reiterated
the importance of ensuring stable investment flows into the
APEC region. In this regard, Ministers welcomed the offer
by the Russian Federation and Thailand to host the Third and
the Fourth APEC Investment Marts in 2002 and in 2003 respectively.
Ministers also welcomed the project to review current literature
on cross-border mergers and acquisitions to enable better
understanding of its development on investment flows.
23. Emphasizing the benefits of trade
facilitation, Ministers instructed officials to identify concrete
actions and measures to implement the APEC Trade Facilitation
Principles in 2002 to promote the flow of goods and services
in the region, and stressed that capacity-building should
remain a central component of APEC's work on trade facilitation.
24. Recognizing the importance of enhancing
the mobility of business people as a means to facilitate APEC
trade and investment goals, Ministers noted the progress made
in the APEC Business Travel Card Scheme and welcomed the participation
of the People's Republic of China and Chinese Taipei in the
scheme, leading to a majority of APEC members being part of
the Scheme. Ministers also commended the progress of capacity
building strategies towards implementing streamlined border
processing of genuine travelers, and noted the multilateral
Advance Passenger Processing (APP) trial as a new technology
standard in regional travel facilitation system. Ministers
supported the Informal Experts' Group on the Mobility of Business
People (IEGBM) capacity building strategies, which uses agreed
standards for economies to improve their immigration capacity
and contributes to the APEC goals of facilitating trade and
investment.
25. Ministers emphasized the importance
of strengthening competition in the APEC region and welcomed
the Mexican proposal to host a training program in 2002 on
promoting competition in regulated sectors so as to enhance
interaction among APEC economies in this field. Ministers
also welcomed the proposal of Mexico to hold a workshop on
regional and bilateral investment rules and agreements.
26. Ministers praised the work that the
CTI has done over the past year and expressed appreciation
to Mr. Joe Damond for his contribution as CTI Chair. Ministers
also welcomed Ms. Ng Kim Neo to serve as the CTI Chair for
the next two years commencing in 2002.
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