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Asia Pacífico | Observatorio Parlamentario
APEC’s outstanding issues
14 noviembre 2008
The APEC Leaders Summit, scheduled next week in Lima, is the main event of all the meetings that have taken place this year between the member economies. A number of agreements are expected to be produced, but many may be destined to the paper they are written on or just forgotten, as in the past. This Portal asked some experts for their opinions of what they believe are the outstanding issues in this forum; that is, those issues which remain to be resolved.
The APEC Leaders Summit, scheduled next week in Lima, is the main event of all the meetings that have taken place this year between the member economies. A number of agreements are expected to be produced, but many may be destined to the paper they are written on or just forgotten, as in the past. This Portal asked some experts for their opinions of what they believe are the outstanding issues in this forum; that is, those issues which remain to be resolved.
One of the APEC’s goals is to achieve the acceleration of trade in the region. But in the view of Veronica Neghme, an Asia-Pacific specialist who teaches at the University Gabriela Mistral, the organization is stagnant. That is, it is yet to achieve its goal of boosting free trade in the region. In her view, thus far “APEC has been stronger in facilitating some efforts. And by this I mean its development of joint projects and modernizing customs procedures. But it has failed to open (the region) up.”
"There has been progress on the liberalization of bilateral agreements, but not at the APEC level," states Neghme. Her point is clearly evidenced by the manifold FTA’s in force between member economies. But, here again, Neghme emphasizes, "Many of (the FTA’s) are like a plate of spaghetti, whereas they have no mechanism for dispute (resolution)." In fact, this the very reason Chile proposed that free trade occupy its own place on the meeting’s agenda. The Chilean proposal has yet to be ruled on by the Forum.
For Marcela Caceres, a BCN Congressional Research Service international affairs analyst, many of APEC’s most relevant pending issues are related to its inability to reach precise agreements. This, in turn, has led member economies to take actions contradictory to the interests of same.
As such, she believes "the guiding principle of agreements or forums such as APEC should be a commitment to open markets at the global and regional levels. At the global level, this has been expressed via the support for the Doha Round findings.” Caceres, however, is quick to point out that this will has been challenged on issues like agricultural subsidies in developed countries. In fact, this is the case of the U.S. Congress, which recently “passed just such a (trade) restriction by enacting a new agricultural subsidy which will provide nearly $300 billion over the next five years.” Similar measures have been taken by the European Union.
“This affects free trade and consequently the goals of APEC, whose members must address this weakness when their leaders meet in Lima. APEC’s commitment to the theory that opening markets is the most efficient way to increase trade flow, which, in turn, generates development growth, will be tested and its global influence will diminish.” Despite this, Caceres noted that in previous APEC meetings in Peru, specifically in Arequipa, progress was made on intellectual property regulations and promotion of the digital economy. Other sectors which saw progress are human security and improvement of the region’s business climate.
Finally, Yung Tso Lee, of the Universidad del Desarrollo, feels the issue of security has completely disappeared from the Forum’s agenda. “APEC, whose purview is expressly economic and commercial, has completely dismissed the topic of security and terrorism, addressed by the Americans at the 2004 meeting in Chile. Thus, issues like the war on terrorism were marginalized by APEC’s own inner dynamics.”
Lee also thinks that the issue of free trade is something that must be resolved. “The free trade goal will be further formulated during the period 2010-2020. So we still have some time to find out whether APEC can deliver on this goal. In view of the various FTA’s that have been signed between Chile, China, the US and other economies in APEC, it is feasible to think other similar agreements may be generated, whereas APEC accelerates the process of trade liberalization.”
Professor Lee is not completely negative on APEC. In fact, he prefers to highlight its achievements, as on the topic of communications, “which has made tremendous progress in terms of stimulating exchange and development in digital technologies this year.”
One of the APEC’s goals is to achieve the acceleration of trade in the region. But in the view of Veronica Neghme, an Asia-Pacific specialist who teaches at the University Gabriela Mistral, the organization is stagnant. That is, it is yet to achieve its goal of boosting free trade in the region. In her view, thus far “APEC has been stronger in facilitating some efforts. And by this I mean its development of joint projects and modernizing customs procedures. But it has failed to open (the region) up.”
"There has been progress on the liberalization of bilateral agreements, but not at the APEC level," states Neghme. Her point is clearly evidenced by the manifold FTA’s in force between member economies. But, here again, Neghme emphasizes, "Many of (the FTA’s) are like a plate of spaghetti, whereas they have no mechanism for dispute (resolution)." In fact, this the very reason Chile proposed that free trade occupy its own place on the meeting’s agenda. The Chilean proposal has yet to be ruled on by the Forum.
For Marcela Caceres, a BCN Congressional Research Service international affairs analyst, many of APEC’s most relevant pending issues are related to its inability to reach precise agreements. This, in turn, has led member economies to take actions contradictory to the interests of same.
As such, she believes "the guiding principle of agreements or forums such as APEC should be a commitment to open markets at the global and regional levels. At the global level, this has been expressed via the support for the Doha Round findings.” Caceres, however, is quick to point out that this will has been challenged on issues like agricultural subsidies in developed countries. In fact, this is the case of the U.S. Congress, which recently “passed just such a (trade) restriction by enacting a new agricultural subsidy which will provide nearly $300 billion over the next five years.” Similar measures have been taken by the European Union.
“This affects free trade and consequently the goals of APEC, whose members must address this weakness when their leaders meet in Lima. APEC’s commitment to the theory that opening markets is the most efficient way to increase trade flow, which, in turn, generates development growth, will be tested and its global influence will diminish.” Despite this, Caceres noted that in previous APEC meetings in Peru, specifically in Arequipa, progress was made on intellectual property regulations and promotion of the digital economy. Other sectors which saw progress are human security and improvement of the region’s business climate.
Finally, Yung Tso Lee, of the Universidad del Desarrollo, feels the issue of security has completely disappeared from the Forum’s agenda. “APEC, whose purview is expressly economic and commercial, has completely dismissed the topic of security and terrorism, addressed by the Americans at the 2004 meeting in Chile. Thus, issues like the war on terrorism were marginalized by APEC’s own inner dynamics.”
Lee also thinks that the issue of free trade is something that must be resolved. “The free trade goal will be further formulated during the period 2010-2020. So we still have some time to find out whether APEC can deliver on this goal. In view of the various FTA’s that have been signed between Chile, China, the US and other economies in APEC, it is feasible to think other similar agreements may be generated, whereas APEC accelerates the process of trade liberalization.”
Professor Lee is not completely negative on APEC. In fact, he prefers to highlight its achievements, as on the topic of communications, “which has made tremendous progress in terms of stimulating exchange and development in digital technologies this year.”
