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APEC Adopts Strategy for Securing Commerce in the Asia-Pacific Region

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In response to a directive by APEC Leaders, APEC officials meeting in Hawaii adopted the APEC Consolidated CounterTerrorism and Secure Trade Strategy to better promote a secure environment conducive to growth and prosperity in the AsiaPacific region.  This multi-year strategy calls for a collaborative approach that emphasizes ensuring the security, efficiency, and resiliency of regional commerce in the face of various threats.

The Strategy builds upon APEC’s work since 2001 to protect regional supply chains, travel, financial systems, and critical infrastructure from attack, disruption and misuse without compromising the flow of legitimate commerce.  APEC experts in counter-terrorism, transportation, customs, immigration, and telecommunications collaborated closely to develop this integrated strategy.

In particular, the Strategy stresses enhanced efforts to build the capabilities of APEC economies, and closer cooperation with the private sector and other multilateral organizations. This includes:

  • Fostering risk-based to security, which offers the most promising means to securing trade and travel in a way that minimizes the impact on legitimate commerce;
  • Promoting compatibility of various security standards, including between customs and transportation security authorities
  • Undertaking concrete initiatives to ensure the expeditious recovery of commerce following an attack or natural disaster, including establishment of an operational APEC Trade Recovery System.