[asia-apec 1455] APEC SOM Meeting

[APEC Monitoring Group]

Reuters
May 30, 2000

APEC officials meet on trade liberalisation

By Sabyasachi Mitra

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 30 (Reuters) - Senior officials of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will begin talks on Wednesday on trade
liberalisation but China's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is
not on the agenda.

The 21-member APEC will discuss Japan's idea of greater involvement of the
regional grouping at the WTO, which was mooted at an APEC meeting in
February.

``Generally there was support for this kind of an idea. Japan went back and
developed the idea more and we will be seeing and discussing it as the first
thing during the retreat,'' Lim Jock Seng, chairman of the APEC meeting, told
a news conference in the tiny, oil-rich sultanate of Brunei on Borneo island.

The APEC officials will go for a day-long retreat to the Brunei town of Seria
on Thursday.

The regional grouping will also try to give a push to the issue of
Accelerated Tariff Liberalisation (ATL), which was part of the declaration at
the last APEC summit in Auckland last year.

``Globalisation, liberalisation and facilitation must all go at the same
pace,'' said Lim, who is also the permanent secretary of Brunei's Foreign
Ministry.

The officials are also expected to prepare for their upcoming ministerial
trade meeting in Darwin in June.

Officials said they also hoped to kick-start electronic commerce initiatives
to move towards paperless trade goals, including customs facilitation, among
member countries.

APEC will also discuss a proposal from the United States on the so-called new
economy, which addresses issues of investment, legal aspects and the question
of delivery of services, officials said.

But Lim said China's entry into the WTO would not be discussed.

``I think at this stage the question of China's entry is not a part of the
agenda,'' he said.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to grant China permanent
normal trade status (PNTR), paving the way for Beijing's entry into the WTO.

Lim said APEC was thrilled with the U.S. decision on China, which is a member
of APEC along with the United States.

The U.S. Senate is expected to approve House of Representative's decision in
June to complete Congressional approval.

APEC groups 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.

The next APEC summit will be in Brunei in November.