APEC ministers reaffirm stance vs protectionism

APEC MINISTERS yesterday promised to hold off on imposing trade distorting measures designed to protect local economies until 2011.

This comes as protectionist pressure still remains, along with high jobless rates, despite observations of a pickup in the global economy, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers said in a joint statement released at the close of a meeting in Sapporo, Japan.

They went on to call for the speedy conclusion of free trade talks at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and also ordered their senior officials to complete reports on regional integration in time for an APEC leaders’ meeting in November.

“Some economic indicators show that the world economy is on its way to recovery, but the lingering high unemployment rates may give rise to political pressures to adopt protectionist measures,” said the trade ministers from the 21-member bloc that includes the United States and Asian countries like the Philippines.

“[We] remain committed to rejecting all forms of protectionism … We agreed to extend the commitment on standstill made by APEC leaders in 2008 for another year until 2011 and stand ready to extend this further, if necessary,” they stated.

It is unknown, however, whether members of the group will keep this promise.

The Philippines, for instance, is currently studying whether to impose safeguard duties against imported cartons and mosquito coils that are reportedly edging out local industries. Trade officials could not be immediately reached to comment.

The APEC ministers pointed to the frail recovery of the world economy to justify the “early conclusion” of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), a multilateral deal which will prod 151 WTO members to slash tariffs.

“We candidly assessed the current state of the DDA and are deeply concerned about the current impasse of the negotiations,” they said.

“We will renew the empowerment of our representatives in Geneva and senior officials to move the Doha work forward by holding active negotiations in all appropriate fora and configurations.”

Looking inward, the ministers went on to order senior officials to finish assessing industrialized members’ progress on regional integration goals, the due date for which had been end-2010. The report should be completed in time for the November summit, they said.

Prescriptions for “possible pathways” to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific must likewise be drafted alongside a “multi-year action plan” which will detail a growth strategy for the region.

Sought for comment, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) hailed the meeting’s output, particular the shared stance against protectionism.

“But some of the commitments might be too harsh for developing economies. We propose that [deals] be studied very thoroughly,” PCCI President Francis C. Chua said in a telephone interview.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, 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 Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.  –JESSICA ANNE D. HERMOSA, Reporter, businessworld