[asia-apec 536] Re: PECC and Asian Crisis

[Gatt Watchdog]

To: gattwd
Subject: PECC and Asian Crisis
From: gattwd
Reply-To: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog)
Comments: Gatt Watchdog
Message-ID: <eo0gTe3w165w at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz>
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 98 11:29:49 +1200
Organization: PlaNet Gaia Otautahi












>                            PRESS RELEASES  
> 
>    PECC calls for an APEC-led Asia Pacific community response to the
>                         Asian economic crisis
> 
>     ---------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> PECC NEWS -- For immediate release
> 
> Singapore, 23 June, 1998 - The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
> (PECC) outlined its recommendations for a strong and comprehensive
> regional response to the Asian economic crisis, to be led by APEC, in
> its policy statement to the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting today in
> Kuching, Malaysia.
> 
> The Statement, delivered by PECC Chair Roberto R. Romulo, pointed out
> that the crisis had revealed cracks in the systems and institutions
> which had yielded rapid growth over the past two decades. "Reclaiming
> the high-growth rates of the past and making it sustainable for the
> coming millennium will require a new COHERENCE in policy-making and
> institution-building which has not yet been seen in the Asia Pacific
> region. PECC strongly believes that APEC remains well-suited to lead a
> strong and comprehensive Asia Pacific community response to the
> economic crisis."
> 
> A new coherent approach in policy development should reflect:
> 
>    * the role of international capital mobility in economic
>      adjustments;
>    * the role of financial markets in productive economic activity;
>    * and an economic foundation based on competition principles.
> 
> Greater recognition of policy linkages, as well as sequencing of
> policy implementation and liberalization within and between sectors,
> would be crucial for realization of the Bogor goals.
> 
> At the domestic level, the response to the crisis are already becoming
> more coherent in those economies receiving IMF assistance. But the
> PECC Statement observed that "at the regional and multilateral level,
> most of these issues are not managed coherently. Financial issues,
> competition issues, liberalization initiatives and institutional
> development are treated as separate streams. This policy fragmentation
> does not reflect the way the corporate sector responds to market
> circumstances and is entirely inappropriate for rapid recovery."
> 
> APEC is the ideal vehicle to drive a bold, new regional response to
> the crisis, because it already implicitly recognizes the importance of
> coherence in its framework through its three pillars of trade and
> investment liberalization and facilitation, and economic and technical
> cooperation.
> 
> The challenge for APEC now is to fully utilize its positive
> institutional attributes to improve the welfare of the Asia Pacific
> community. The PECC Statement highlighted that "the EVSL (early
> voluntary sectoral liberalization) process, which has absorbed so much
> of APEC's recent energy, would lack relevance to the present crisis if
> it did not result in a strong, mutually beneficial, and balanced
> outcome."
> 
> Elaborating on PECC's position on EVSL, PECC Chair Roberto Romulo
> said, "The central goal of APEC is to achieve the Bogor vision of free
> and open trade and investment in the region, through broad and
> comprehensive trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and
> economic and technical cooperation. EVSL is a sectoral approach which
> was inspired by the ITA (Information Technology Agreement) to
> accelerate APEC towards this goal. EVSL should be in support of this
> goal, and not become an end in itself. PECC's Trade Policy Forum is
> working on a framework for EVSL and will be presenting its proposals
> on how EVSL can support APEC's Bogor vision, and contribute to the
> multilateral trade liberalization agenda."
> 
> PECC pledged to use its intellectual resources and wide business and
> community network to contribute to the development and implementation
> of a coherent response to the crisis. It reported to APEC Trade
> Ministers several proposals and projects (some developed jointly with
> APEC) which aimed to urgently alleviate the economic hardship of the
> people and businesses brought on by the crisis, and also address the
> need to look forward in addressing the challenges of an information
> age. These include:
> 
>    * a proposal to set up a Working Capital Loan Fund for small and
>      medium size enterprises in crisis-hit economies;
>    * development of technical cooperation activities, such as training
>      to improve domestic financial systems and regulatory capacities,
>      to mitigate the crisis and forestall future events;
>    * the setting up of a "virtual" "APEC E-Commerce Network"
>      (APECNET), to broaden expert advice and support to various APEC
>      fora in their E-commerce activities; and
>    * the organization of annual Asia Pacific Information Technology
>      Summits to promote constructive dialogue between the government
>      leaders and ministers, and industry leaders on the way forward
>      through IT.
> 
> PECC believes that an APEC-led response which includes all the
> stakeholders could develop the necessary building block for
> sustainable Asia Pacific cooperation into the new millennium.
> 
> The Asia Pacific community response must include:
> 
>    * a strong re-commitment to the PRINCIPLES OF OPEN REGIONALISM
>    * a PACKAGE APPROACH to liberalization, facilitation and especially
>      economic and technical cooperation, which will become
>      increasingly important as economies accelerate liberalization
>      measures;
>    * a COHERENT APPROACH which accounts for the INTER-LINKAGES of the
>      various issues and which recognizes the important role of
>      COMPETITION PRINCIPLES in providing cohesion to the policy
>      framework.
>    * ONGOING POLICY DEVELOPMENT to ensure that the Asia Pacific region
>      can ANTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO CHANGES in the global economic
>      architecture more effectively and productively.
>    * a proactive role in improving SURVEILLANCE and coming up with the
>      minimum global standards of transparency and information
>      disclosure.
>    * CONFIDENCE BUILDING so that each individual crisis-affected
>      economy remains committed to the process of opening up,
>      institutional building and good governance.
> 
> [The full PECC Statement is available at
> http://www.pecc.net/opinion.html, or on request from the PECC
> International Secretariat.]
> 
>                                 - End -
> 
> Issued by the PECC International Secretariat (Singapore).
> For enquiries, please contact Ms Wong Marn Heong, Director (Public
> Affairs) at the PECC Secretariat Tel: 65-7379823, Fax: 65-7379824
>  
> 
>  The PECC is an independent, policy-oriented organization of high
>  level business, academic and government representatives from 23
>  Asia-Pacific economies. It aims to foster economic development in
>  the region by providing a forum for discussion and cooperation in a
>  wide range of economic areas. These include trade and investment
>  policies, financial and capital market developments, human resource
>  development, minerals, energy, food and agriculture, Pacific
>  economic outlook, science and technology, fisheries, transportation
>  and telecommunications. PECC is also the only non-governmental body
>  among the three official observers in APEC.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------



























































































































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