Goff calls for APEC FTA progress, Doha pressure
National Business Review, New Zealand
Goff calls for APEC FTA progress, Doha pressure
Peters is happy with APEC talks
16 November 2005
Noting that a "spaghetti bowl of rules" would result from multiple bilateral free trade agreements among APEC members, Minister of Trade Phil Goff has called for coherence between FTAs in the region.
"[W]ork has started on best practice guidelines. We have a small window of opportunity, perhaps two-three years to promote best practice model FTA chapters if we are to secure some coherence between FTAs in the region. The spaghetti bowl of rules in multiple FTAs that will confront business will otherwise stand in the way of achieving the vision of the Bogor Goals," he said in delivering a mid-term stocktake speech to the APEC Ministerial Meeting Plenary in Busan, Korea, yesterday.
Mr Goff noted that all APEC economies had made significant progress towards the Bogor Goals, many far in excess of New Zealand’s own achievments.
– APEC’s average applied tariffs have reduced significantly from 16.9 per cent in 1989 to 5.5 per cent in 2004. In this respect APEC has outperformed the rest of the world.
– In opening up their countries for trade and investment APEC economies have also spectacularly outperformed other economies in growth.
– Between 1989 and 2003, APEC economies achieved 46 per cent real GPD growth, non-APEC economies 36 per cent.
– APEC achieved 28 per cent per capita GDP growth, against 8 per cent for non-APEC economies over the same period.
"In 1994, the focus was principally on removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Now we are looking more intensively at trade facilitation issues such as customs facilitation, standards, e-commerce and business mobility," he said.
Mr Goff also encouraged APEC members to exert influence to see the Doha round come to a fruitful conclusion.
"[I]t is important that APEC is a lobby group maintaining pressure for a positive completion of the Doha Round. It should also continue to make specific strategic interventions on aspects of the negotiation where there is deadlock," he said.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters, completing his first overseas assignment in his new position, said it had been "very useful" to meet with his counterparts in APEC.
"A theme of my meetings with Foreign Ministers from countries in East Asia was satisfaction that New Zealand will participate in the first ever East Asia Summit, in Malaysia next month. New Zealand’s success in being invited to be part of the EAS has come about in recognition of New Zealand’s sustained interest in building stronger relations with Asia, and the contribution we are making to regional cooperation.
"For New Zealand, APEC is important in the way it brings together countries with which we have longstanding close relationships, on both sides of the Pacific, and countries in Asia and Latin America with which we are rapidly expanding our ties," he said.
