15 October 2009
U.S. Seeks Enhanced Trade with Asia-Pacific Forum Members
Washington — The 20th anniversary meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Singapore in November represents the beginning of a two-year period in which the United States will seek to enhance economic and trade relations with the Asia-Pacific region, say senior U.S. officials.
“APEC is strategically important to the United States because it is a primary venue for multilateral engagement with the Asia-Pacific on economic and other key interests,” Kurt Tong, the acting senior U.S. State Department official for APEC, said at an October 14 congressional hearing.
Tong added that the 21 APEC members account for 55 percent of world gross domestic product, 45 percent of global trade and 40 percent of the world’s population. In addition, 60 percent of U.S. goods exports go to APEC economies, and five of America’s top seven trade partners are APEC members, he said.
Tong made his remarks to a hearing of the U.S. House of Representative’s Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, which was evaluating the continuing role of APEC in American foreign relations and the U.S. commitment to the forum’s goals.
In November, President Obama will make his first trip to Asia since taking office and will attend his first APEC leaders meeting. Tong said the president’s attendance at the meeting signals the U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition to attending APEC in Singapore, Obama will travel to Japan, China and South Korea November 11–19, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. Obama will be in Tokyo November 12–13 to deepen coordination with the Japanese on a range of economic, security and other issues, he said, and will include a second meeting with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama before heading to the two-day APEC meeting. He also will travel to Beijing and to South Korea before returning to Washington, Gibbs said.
While at the APEC forum, Obama will hold his first meeting with the leaders of the 10 Southeast Asian nations that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Gibbs said.
21ST-CENTURY ECONOMIC AGENDA
Tong said this forum begins a two-year period in which the United States seeks to define a 21st-century economic policy agenda for the Asia-Pacific region. In 2010, APEC will meet in Japan. In 2011, APEC will meet in the United States for the first time in 18 years.
“Concerning APEC’s trade and investment agenda, which is at the heart of APEC’s efforts and ambitions, it is critical that the United States remain a leader in strengthening economic integration in the Asia-Pacific,” Tong said. The goal is to expand exports for competitive goods and services and indirectly create more jobs for U.S. workers, he said.
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler told the House subcommittee that U.S. exports to the region trend toward higher value-added goods and services, such as electrical and other machinery, aircraft and parts, medical equipment, chemicals, and knowledge-based business, professional and technical services.
Tong said a second component of the economic agenda is to bolster APEC’s contributions to the promotion of global economic recovery. He said that with almost half of the Group of 20 (G20) advanced and emerging economies coming from APEC, the United States believes that APEC members have a role to play in supporting, reinforcing and implementing G20 goals for global economic recovery and future growth, and the expansion of unfettered trade.
“This includes the pledge to avoid protectionist measures that would only exacerbate economic distress,” Tong said.
The most complex item on the economic agenda, Tong said, is to work with APEC members on efforts to promote “balanced, sustainable and inclusive” growth. Coming out of the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, world leaders pledged to move their economies into more balance and away from less destabilizing booms and busts. That move is complex because it requires nations like the United States that currently have a heavy consumer-driven economy to move more toward an investment-driven economy. (See “G20 Nations to Maintain Stimulus Plans Until Recovery Is Assured.”)
“APEC provides a forum for leaders of these economies to coordinate on macroeconomic, financial and structural policies that will promote strong and balanced global demand, led by thriving private sectors,” Tong said.
Another component is what the United States is calling the “human security” agenda that will ensure the prosperity and resiliency of societies against multiple threats, he added. One component of human security is enhanced food security that provides critical training to growers, manufacturers and government regulators. Other areas include toy safety and cracking down on counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
A challenge, Cutler said, is a trend toward Asia-centric organizations that lessens the opportunity for the United States to participate in the evolving economic architecture of the region.
“Another challenge is the proliferation of bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreement [FTAs] in the region,” Cutler testified. “According to some estimates, there are about 70 such agreements currently being negotiated by countries in the Asia-Pacific, including deals between Japan and India, Chile and Vietnam, and Korea and Australia. This is on top of the over 150 FTAs that are already in place.”
By comparison, Cutler said, the United States has five trade deals in place in the region.
Cutler added that APEC’s role in expanding support for the G20 response to the financial crisis has been critical. APEC members have made commitments through 2010 to refrain from imposing new barriers to trade and investment or imposing new export restrictions, or implementing measures that are inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
“APEC has historically offered strong support to the multilateral trading regime,” Cutler testified. And APEC is looking to explore new ways for direct engagement with the WTO, she said.
Cutler said the 2001 Doha trade-liberalization talks will be on this year’s forum agenda.
“In addition, APEC will continue to support the WTO negotiations to liberalize trade in environmental goods and services, including through identifying market-access barriers to these important technologies,” Cutler said.
