Member Economies * Australia
* Malaysia
* Brunei Darussalam
* Mexico
* Canada
* New Zealand
* Chile
* Papua New Guinea
* People's Republic of China
* Peru
* The Republic of the Philippines
* Hong Kong, China
* The Russian Federation
* Japan
* United States of America
* Indonesia
* Chinese Taipei
* Singapore
* Republic of Korea
* Viet Nam
History of APEC
APEC begins as an informal Ministerial-level dialogue group in Canberra, Australia in 1989. It
is a 21 member economic forum at present.
Founding members are
Australia, New Zealand
6 ASEAN economies
Japan and South Korea
Canada and the United States
Later the co-operation expanded to China, Taiwan, & Hong Kong in1991
Mexico &
Papua New Guinea in 1993 ,Chile (1994 ) , Russia, Vietnam, Peru in 1998.
India, Mangolia, Pakistan, Laos, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and are among a dozen countries seeking membership in APEC.
Ecuador
Mission and Vision
To support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Asia-Pacific region. To build a dynamic and harmonious Asia-Pacific community.
Decrease number of obstacles in trade and also reduce tariffs across APEC nations.
To encourage the flow of goods, services, capital, and technology.
To develop and strengthen the multilateral trading system.
APEC STRUCTURE
APEC Secretariat
APEC secretariat operates as the core support mechanism for the APEC process. It provides coordination, technical and advisory support as well as information management, communications and public outreach services.
It performs a central project management role
It is based in Singapore
The APEC Secretariat is headed by an Executive Director and a Deputy Executive Director
Muhamad Noor Yacob is the present Executive Director
THREE PILLARS Three specific areas crucial to achieving the Bogor Goals:
Trade and investment liberalization
Business facilitation
Economic and technical cooperation
HOW APEC OPERATES
APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum. It is a voluntary association in which participants do not cede powers of regulation or enforcement to a supra-national institution;
Every year one of the 21 member economies plays host to APEC meetings,
Serves as the APEC Chair
Chairs the annual economic Leaders meeting & ministerial Meetings
Fills Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.
CONT ..
Member Economies take individual and collective actions to open their markets and promote economic growth
Activities are centrally funded by small annual contributions from member Economies Member economies provide considerable resources to assist in the operations APEC’s project database contain all project related information
STRENGTHS OF APEC
A supporter of the of the multilateral trade negotiations, apply pressure to key countries, suggest visionary initiatives and monitor compliances.
APEC has considerable experience in the reform process and can act as a model or demonstration to the rest of the world.
APEC is a large group of countries that could be extremely influential if adopted a common approach and joint bargaining objectives.
W EAKNESSES OF APEC
Absence of priorities- The effort in trade reform within APEC has been diffused across too many areas and there is need for more focus.
Shortfalls in member commitments- Many countries have gone no further than their existing pledges.
Weak evaluation procedures- there is lack of outside scrutiny of individual members’ progress in implementing reforms
Dearth of specific APEC incentives- APEC operates by consensus and there is no mechanism for enforcing group decisions.
conclusion Economic co-operation in the Asia Pacific is facing many challenges, but all of these can be met. APEC is the only international organisation which brings together the increasingly important East Asian economies with their major trading partners across the Pacific, so it will remain relevant alongside the intra-East Asian co-operation w hich can be expected to evolve. APEC s regular meetings of senior regional officials, ministers and leaders provide valuable channels of communications. These make it more likely that policy formation in all Asia Pacific economies will be better informed by developments elsewhere in the region and policy-makers are more likely to choose options which facilitate regional integration and avoid needless adverse side effects on other economies. In particular, the annual meetings of APEC leaders provide a regular forum to identify new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperative arrangements. These encounters can also defuse potential tensions over trade or investment relations, since they are more likely to be considered in the context of overall relations, political as well as economic. The experience of APEC s first decade has confirmed that its participants, particularly from East Asia, continue to have no interest in ceding powers of regulation or enforcement to a ny new regional organisation. APEC will remain a voluntary process, which helps its members to seize opportunities to realise mutual benefits, rather than expecting them to act against their perceived self-interest. ’
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