Current Activities
In 2009, the CTI will continue to advance the CTI-related actions outlined
in the 2007
Regional Economic Integration (REI) report.
During its first meeting on the 19th and 20th of February in Singapore
(CTI1), the CTI agreed on a forward work program that includes new issues
mandated by Senior Officials as well as work already outlined in the REI matrix.
Accordingly the CTI adopted four work plans with specific timelines and outcomes
in the following areas:
1. REI/FTAAP
The 2009 work plan for REI includes work on a Free Trade Area of the Asia
Pacific (FTAAP) and focuses on, amongst other things, the following objectives:
- Making rules of origin (ROOs) more business friendly;
- Identifying possible vehicles for an FTAAP; and
- Deepening analysis for an FTAAP.
On the issue of ROOs, the CTI has agreed to: (i) work on examining the
feasibility of having harmonised rules of origin for specific sectors starting
with the four sectors that the Market
Access Group had agreed to take forward in 2009 namely white
goods, musical instruments, steel and consumer electronics, and the ongoing work
on chemicals in the Chemical
Dialogue Steering Group; and (ii) explore other areas of work
discussed during the Senior
Officials' Meeting (SOM1) such as cumulation and
simplification of documents and procedures. A CTI-MAG Trade Policy Dialogue on
ROOs will be held in the margins of the second set of CTI meetings for 2009, on
21 May (CTI2).
With regards to identifying possible vehicles for an FTAAP, the CTI will
continue to examine the feasibility and applicability of enlarging, docking and
merging methodologies.
On the issue of deepening, analysis for an FTAAP the CTI agreed to update the
14 chapters of the 30 FTAs/RTAs reviewed in the 2008 Convergences/Divergences
Study of APEC FTAs, with the recently completed FTAs/RTAs notified to the WTO as
at 1 January 2009.
2. Trade Facilitation
The CTI held a joint dialogue with the Economic
Committee on the 18th of February to examine issues related
to trade logistics and to take forward the SOM's priority - enhancing physical
connectivity across-the-border. Both committees agreed to collaborate on
this objective and have called it the "Supply Chain Connectivity Initiative
(SCI)". They also agreed that the SCI would be carried out in three steps:
-
Mapping: to identify the work that has been done on
trade logistics within APEC, in other organisations and on regional/multilateral
fronts;
-
Identification of choke points within the supply
chain; and
-
Prioritisation of steps to be taken by APEC to
address the choke points.
At CTI1, the Committee adopted a work plan on trade
facilitation to progress the implementation of TFAPII as well as the new SCI.
Australia and Singapore will be co-sponsoring a Symposium on 16-17 May in
Singapore, scheduled to follow immediately after the APEC Business Advisory
Council's Meetings in Brunei, to take forward the SCI.
With regards to the implementation of TFAPII, the CTI agreed to work with the
relevant sub-fora, assisted by the APEC Policy
Support Unit (PSU) to develop a rigorous methodology by which
to measure the effect its implementation.
3. Investment Facilitation Action Plan
The CTI has agreed on a work plan which outlines the broad
steps to be taken in 2009 with respect to: (i) the identification of KPIs; (ii)
the measurement of progress against these KPIs; and (iii) the identification and
implementation of the action items listed in the IFAP. On items (i) and (ii),
Australia as the CTI friends-of-the-chair (FOTC) lead, has undertaken to consult
with the PSU and circulate intersessionally to other FOTC members, a paper on
KPIs and measurement methodology. On item (iii), the CTI will be tasking the
Investment Experts' Group (IEG) with identifying, by the time of CTI2 in May,
five specific actions under each of the three priority themes agreed in 2008,
namely e-transparency, reducing investor risk and simplifying business
regulations.
4. Digital Economy and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
The CTI has agreed to a work plan on the digital economy and strengthening
IPR which focuses on taking forward the instructions as set out in the 2008
Annual Ministerial Meeting Statement.
Environmental Goods and Services (EGS)
To meet instructions to deliver an EGS work program to the Meeting of
Ministers Responsible for Trade in July 2009, the CTI and MAG will intensify
work intersessionally in accordance with the EGS
framework adopted last year. Amongst other things, a proposal
to develop a set of good regulatory practices (GRP) for EGS is being discussed
in the CTI.
APEC Services Initiative (ASI)
During its February meetings, the CTI had extensive discussions on the
joint US-Australia proposal for an APEC Services Initiative (ASI) which is
targeted at increasing awareness of the nature of cross-border services and
relevant policy issues. It is envisaged that a series of seminars will be
organised under the auspices of the Group
on Services, to exchange information on issues related to
cross-border services trade. The ASI also calls for the development of:
-
A framework of services principles to facilitate the
expansion of cross-border services trade.
-
A Services Facilitation Action Plan to boost services
trade and facilitate the development of an open and efficient services
market in the APEC region.
A small group has been formed within the CTI's REI/FTAAP
FOTC to work intersessionally on a draft paper on a framework of services
principles for consideration at CTI2. A one-day workshop designed to increase
knowledge and understanding in APEC member economies of commercial realities,
opportunities and impediments relating to cross-border services is being planned
for CTI2 in May.
More information about the CTI's work program can be found on the CTI's sub-fora
webpages.
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