[asia-apec 1462] NZ Herald on APEC

[APEC Monitoring Group]

6 June 2000

NZ Herald, Auckland

Apec leads push to kick-start WTO talks

06.06.2000 - 

ADELAIDE - Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum are trying to reignite trade liberalisation after the World Trade Organisation talks collapsed in Seattle. 

A four-point "confidence building plan," proposed by Japan at preliminary meetings in Brunei last week, will be put to a two-day meeting starting in Darwin today. 

Former New Zealand Prime Minister and WTO Director-General Mike Moore will attend. 

Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile, who will chair the meeting, has emphasised the importance of rebuilding support for a new WTO trade round. 

It is the first big meeting of international trade ministers since the WTO talks fell apart against a background of violent protests in Seattle last December. 

Australia is also hoping to build on China's impending accession to the WTO. China will host Apec's 2001 summit in Shanghai. 

"The Apec meeting in Auckland last year delivered strong support for new WTO negotiations and I'll be pushing for renewed vigour for opening world trade," Mr Vaile said last week. 

But United States Deputy Trade Representative Richard Fisher said that while he was keen to see a new round of global talks launched this year, current momentum was not forceful. 

Peter Drysdale, head of the Australian National University's Australia-Japan Research Centre, said the Darwin meeting was a critical opportunity for Apec to move towards a consensus on issues which have paralysed world trade talks. 

Differences between the US and European Union and also between developing and industrial nations over labour, environment and anti-dumping issues scuttled the Seattle talks. 

Apec officials said the Japanese initiative for the Darwin meeting included increased global access for products from less-developed countries and helping member economies to build infrastructure to implement the WTO agenda. 

"The big thing, really, is whether or not an effective coalition can be welded within Apec to get momentum into initiating a new round," Mr Drysdale said. 

"It won't happen at this meeting ... but this is where this process will begin," he said, seeing positive symbolism in the attendance in Darwin of the WTO chief. 

Kim Anderson, director of the University of Adelaide's Centre for International Economic Studies, said momentum-building towards a new round would have added impetus in Darwin as Apec tried to shore up its reputation, battered by perceptions of failure in the wake of the Asian economic crisis. 

He said its hopes for any WTO breakthrough might be in vain, with coming elections in the US and France likely to reduce the mood among key players for new talks. 

"I think it's an uphill battle," he said. 

The meeting is also expected to move to clearer progress reports on the individual action plans for each member country. 

It is also likely to canvass the contentious trend towards sub-regional and bilateral free trade agreements. 

Many members have voiced concern that the agreements could lead to preferential and discriminatory trade practices, and work against the Apec goals of free and open trade by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing members. 

"Will they be agreements which discriminate against other Apec members and the rest of the world and have no time-frame for being removed, or will they relate to the Apec goals?" Mr Drysdale said. "There's huge confusion about it." 

-REUTERS