Average applied tariffs in APEC economies have been reduced from 16.9 percent in 1989, when APEC was established, to around 6.6 percent in 2008. APEC's total trade (goods and services) has increased from US$3 trillion in 1989 to US$17 trillion in 2008. Intra-APEC merchandise trade (exports and imports) has grown from US$1.7 trillion in 1989 to US$9.3 trillion in 2008, accounting for 65 percent of APEC's total merchandise trade.

In 2009, the CTI focused on accelerating regional economic integration by reducing at-the-border, behind-the-border and across-the-border barriers to trade. The 2009 CTI Annual Report to Ministers outlines advances made by the Committee. Those advances and other achievements during 2010 include:

• The launch of an APEC Pathfinder for Self-certification of Origin which seeks to reduce the administrative burdens and costs associated with navigating complex rules of origin documentation and procedures when utilising FTAs. Nine economies are now fully participating in the pathfinder. They include Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; New Zealand; Singapore; and the United States.
• The endorsement of the APEC Self-Certification of Origin Capacity Building Programme at the second CTI meeting (CTI2) in June 2010. The programme consists of a general workshop and three in-economy workshops aimed at supporting the further participation of APEC economies in the Pathfinder and contributing to the successful implementation for participating economies.
• The adoption of a set of APEC Elements for Simplification of Documents and Procedures Relating to Rules of Origin (ROOs) by the MAG and the SCCP.
• Agreement on an APEC Transparency Initiative on Tariffs and ROOs to improve the transparency and accessibility of tariffs and ROO information in APEC economies. The initiative (to be undertaken by the MAG) involves the provision of up-to-date and accurate tariff and ROOs information in English on a designated public website in each member economy. An APEC webpage on Tariffs and ROOs ("WebTR") has been created to consolidate links to the individual members' sites in June 2010.
• The adoption of a Supply-Chain Connectivity (SC) Framework which sets out new work streams to address eight priority chokepoints that impede the smooth flow of goods, services and business travellers in the region. The APEC Policy Support Unit's (PSU) study to improve the flow of goods and services by land, air, and sea has been completed. The study's findings will be used as a basis for future work in the area.
• Agreement on a Transparency for Ease of Doing Logistics Business initiative which is aimed at (i) raising awareness of the complex regulatory environment affecting logistics companies; and (ii) encouraging economies to make important information about logistics businesses readily available. A website that serves as a repository of information on the region's logistics regulations has been launched (www.logistics.apec.org).
• Agreement on an APEC Services Action Plan (SAP) which aims to provide common direction and coherence to APEC's work on services trade and to establish a forward work programme that fosters the development of open and efficient services markets in the APEC region. The CTI completed an update of the SAP matrix of actions to reflect the services-related activities underway across the various sub-fora. The updated SAP will assist economies in prioritising and planning future services actions.
• Agreement on a set of APEC Principles for Cross-Border Trade in Services which will serve as a comprehensive policy framework to support the expansion of services trade in the APEC region.
• Agreement on an APEC Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) work programme which aims to promote the development of and trade in EGS, by eliminating barriers to trade and investment.
• The launch of the Environmental Goods and Services Information Exchange (EGSIE), a gateway to access and exchange information on EGS (see http://egs.apec.org/).
• An update to the 2008 Convergences/Divergences Study on APEC FTAs. The study was expanded to cover 12 additional intra-APEC FTAs/RTAs (i.e. 42 in total) and deepened to include a new chapter on e-commerce¹. The updated information can be found at http://www.mincetur.gob.pe/apec_fta/.
• With assistance from the APEC Policy Support Unit, the completion of several pieces of analytical work relating to CTI's priorities for 2009, including:
  • A study on good regulatory practices for goods and services necessary or desirable for climate change mitigation and adaption.
  • A report on establishing a methodology and selecting key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring progress in the implementation of APEC's Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP).
  • An interim assessment of the implementation of APEC's Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPII) which advised on the appropriate methodologies and approaches to quantify the impact of TFAPII on trade transaction costs, and reviewed progress made at the mid-way point of TFAP II (2008). The final assessment of TFAPII is due in 2011.
• The Russian Federation joined the APEC Business Travel Card Scheme (ABTC) as a transitional member with the result that all of APEC's 21 members now participate in the scheme.

In 2009, the CTI also held trade policy dialogues (TPDs) to help members better understand the technical and policy aspects of: (i) ROOs; (ii) trade logistics; and (iii) a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).

^{1. The other chapters include market access, rules of origin, customs procedures, environment, investment, trade remedies, competition policy, cross-border services, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, intellectual property, labour and dispute settlement.}