Apec ministers agree freeze on new non-tariff barriers
Play
Trade ministers attending the recent meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum vowed to desist from any new initiatives for non-tariff barriers among member states until 2016.
After the Apec Ministers Respon-sible for Trade Meeting in the Indone-sian coastal city of Surabaya, 21 countries agreed that they should create a standstill for new NTBs in an attempt to avoid further protectionism and obstruction of global economic growth.
Piramol Charoenpao, director-general of Thailand’s Trade Negotiations Department, said Apec ministers had agreed to support the pluralist economic principle by not engaging in protectionism.
Member states also agreed to reduce some of the NTBs already in place, in a bid to stem the trend during the past several years of many countries launching such protective measures.
Meanwhile, the ministers also agreed to back efforts at the ninth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation aimed at supporting global economic growth. The talks are scheduled to be held in December in Bali, Indonesia.
The negotiations will focus on trade facilitation issues, farming and information-technology development, and the expansion of goods trading among member states.
“The 21 Apec members have combined gross domestic products larger than half of the world’s economy. Apec will, therefore, fully support the ninth WTO meeting to achieve its goal,” Piramol said.
Moreover, Apec members have also agreed to pay more attention to the environment by reducing tariffs on products that are environment-friendly.
Apec ministers will also support talks for an Apec free-trade agreement, which are targeted to bear fruit by 2020, she added.
Other issues discussed in Surabaya include physical connectivity with an emphasis on infrastructure development by the private sector, support for public-private partnerships, institutional connectivity, and people-to-people connectivity.
