The CTI had its first meeting in 2012 on 14-15 February in Moscow, Russia where it adopted a work program for the year that is aligned to three of the four APEC 2012 Priorities; namely (i) trade and investment liberalization and regional economic integration; (ii) establishing reliable supply chains; and (iii) intensive cooperation to foster innovative growth, as well as the APEC 2011 priority of “expanding regulatory cooperation and advancing regulatory coherence”.  It held its second meeting on 2-3 April in Singapore to discuss and advance the work program set out in Moscow. The key elements of the CTI’s work in 2012 include:

Bogor Goals Review Process

• The CTI, assisted by the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU), convened a “Trade Policy Dialogue (TPD) on Measuring Progress – Development of a Dashboard for the Individual Action Plan 2012” with other international organizations on 12 February 2012. The TPD aims to enable economies to have a better understanding of the indicators to be suggested for inclusion in the Individual Action Plan (IAP) Dashboard.  Experts from the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the Turku School of Economics were invited to present on databases and indicators developed by their respective institutions in the areas of non-tariff measures, investment and trade facilitation. At the April meeting, the CTI had an extensive discussion on the indicators to be included in the Dashboard, and how it is to be disseminated. Discussions will continue intersessionally and at CTI3 in Kazan in May.
• The preparations for the Individual Action Plans (IAPs) Peer Reviews in 2012, under the guidelines adopted last year, are on track. The PSU will prepare brief reports with key highlights on members’ main achievements and remaining areas for improvements based on the IAPs submitted for discussion at the second Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM2) in Kazan, Russia.  These reports will be circulated three weeks prior to SOM2 to economies for their review and comment. 

Exploring an Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) 

• The CTI received a comprehensive progress report from Korea on the Regional Economic Integration (REI) capacity building needs initiative and the proposed Action Plan Framework for REI Capacity Building Needs Initiative. Several economies have confirmed their intention to lead, co-sponsor or participate in specific areas of the action plan.

Next Generation Trade and Investment Issues

• The CTI adopted a work plan on next generation trade and investment issues to guide its work in 2012 in response to APEC Economic Leaders’ instructions from November 2011 (see Annex 1).  The CTI, through its Friends of the Chair on Next Generation Trade and Investment Issues (NGeTI FoTC), received several new ideas for consideration as additional next generation issues to be addressed in 2012. The issues being proposed for consideration were based on the understanding that one to two will be selected for work this year. These issues included: integration of competition policy into Free Trade Agreements (FTAs); regulatory principles for access to essential network-based infrastructure facilities in the services sector; Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) best practices; Transparency in FTAs; enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Environment; and Securing Open Markets for Digital Products. The CTI agreed to continue discussing the proposals in the lead up to CTI3 in Kazan, Russia.
• The CTI also continued to progress the implementation of the next generation trade and investment issues that were addressed by Leaders in 2011, as well as to advance work on global supply chains improvement. An “APEC Conference on Innovation and Trade: Policy Considerations Related to Generating and Absorbing Innovation” was held after the CTI2 meeting on 4-5 April and addressed the intersection between the APEC Leaders’ commitment on innovation and trade and the goals that economies all share to improve their capacity to absorb innovation. A “Seminar on Facilitating Global Supply Chains (GSC) and Enhancing SMEs Participation in Global Production Chains (GPC)” is being scheduled to take place prior to CTI3 in May 2012 in Kazan, Russia to progress GSC and GPC as next generation issues.

Environmental Goods and Services/Green Growth

• The CTI conducted a second TPD on Environmental Goods on 13 February 2012, where members received presentations on regional and global environmental challenges and environmental products and technologies. Members also considered how increased trade and investment in these products can help APEC economies address those challenges. In addition, they deliberated on issues relating to classification, definitions, and scope of environmental goods, including by referring to lists of environmental goods developed by other international organizations. The TPD generated productive discussions among officials and afforded a timely opportunity to exchange information and deepen understanding on the key policy issues, objectives and other considerations relating to the mandate, set out in Annex C of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Statement of November 2011, to work to develop in 2012 an APEC list of environmental goods.
• At CTI1 in February, the CTI agreed to an “Indicative Timeline” to develop an APEC List of Environmental Goods in 2012. By the time of CTI2 in April, 10 economies had submitted their initial product nominations for consideration. Other economies indicated that they are still carrying out internal consultations to prepare their own lists, and/or to provide comments on the lists presented thus far.  In accordance to the indicative timeline agreed at CTI1, the lead of the FoTC on EGS will circulate a compiled list to economies by 15 April for economies to provide initial comments by 1 May.

Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework and Action Plan

• The CTI adopted a work plan on supply-chain connectivity, developed by the FoTC on Supply-Chain Connectivity, to progress the Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework and Action Plan and received reports from focus group leads on the progress made in the implementation of the plans Framework to address the eight choke points. Some of the initiatives being pursued include:
• A proposal to Advance the Action Plan for Chokepoint 1 of the APEC Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework led by the United States and co-sponsored by Australia; Hong Kong, China; and Japan. With assistance from the World Bank, APEC will (i) develop a “Supply-Chain Connectivity (SC) Inventory” to identify internal policies and practices related to the cross-border movement of goods affecting the logistics sector for Chokepoint 1 (i.e. Lack of transparency/awareness of full scope of regulatory issues affecting logistics; Lack of awareness and coordination among government agencies on policies affecting logistics sector; Absence of single contact point or champion agency on logistics matters); (ii) draft a series of two diagnostic reports to identify variances in capacity; and (iii) develop individualized capacity building programs to assist economies in implementing the SC Inventory for Chokepoint 1. 
• A proposed capacity building program for the Pathfinder to Enhance Supply-Chain Connectivity by Establishing a Baseline De Minimis Value led by the United States and co-sponsored by Hong Kong, China and Japan. The objective of the capacity building program is to provide participating economies with detailed analysis to assist in the decision-making process to join the Pathfinder. The case studies would be performed by an independent consultant, working with in-economy experts, to identify the benefits and challenges related to raising de minimis values within economies participating in the case study process. 
• A proposed multi-year capacity building project for Enhancing Logistics Performance through Training and Networking for APEC Local/Regional Logistics Sub-providers led by China. The proposal includes initiatives relating to training courses in access to advanced technologies and modern supply chain practices and models, as well as a proposal to develop a platform to distribute information. 
• The CTI held a Symposium on Supply-Chain Connectivity Measurement Framework in the margins of CTI2 in Singapore from 31 March – 1 April 2012 to share experiences and exchange views on the measurement of supply-chain connectivity from different perspectives (international organizations, private sectors and academia); and to stock-take the implementation of the Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan (SCFAP). The Symposium also discussed the draft design of the self-assessment survey that will be used to complement the internal and external indicators for tracking APEC’s progress towards the 10% improvement by 2015 in supply-chain performance. The CTI agreed that economies will provide comments on the draft self-assessment survey intersessionally with a view of finalizing it for adoption at CTI3 in Kazan, Russia.

Expanding Regulatory Cooperation and Advancing Regulatory Convergence

• The CTI agreed that the second dialogue of the APEC Regulatory Cooperation Process Advancement Mechanism (ARCAM) would address the issue of self-regulation in advertising. The dialogue is being planned for the 4th quarter of 2012. 

More information about the CTI's work program can also be found in the CTI's sub-groups webpages. The CTI will next meet in Singapore on 2-3 April to advance its 2012 work program.