APEC meet urges FTA
Reuters
APEC meet urges FTA
Friday, September 3, 2004 (Santiago):
Finance Ministers from the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) explored a wide free trade agreement on Thursday at a conference in Chile.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos told the Pacific Rim Finance Ministers that they should listen to business leaders who urged the region to embrace a free trade agreement.
Lagos said that given the slow pace of world trade talks, APEC should speed up its ’Bogor Goals’ that set a 2010 deadline for free trade among its developed economies and a 2020 deadline for developing economies.
Regional pact
"They think it’s possible to explore, given the number of APEC countries, to have some kind of agreement in this area between the APEC country economies," Lagos said.
The ABAC business group that advises the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has recommended that the group study a regional trade pact. APEC nations account for almost 50 percent of global commerce.
Chile, a strong proponent of free trade in the Americas, has free trade accords with the United States, European Union and South Korea, and is seeking similar agreements with New Zealand, Singapore and China.
After stalling last year, world trade talks got off to a fresh start in August after rich and poor nations struck a crucial deal to slash farm subsidies. Many barriers to opening up international trade still remain and APEC has been a voice urging free trade forward.
APEC members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
