APEC USA 2011: Outlook
In 2010, APEC Leaders set forth a comprehensive, forward-looking framework for achieving growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. The Yokohama Vision called on APEC to promote stronger and deeper regional economic integration, including by taking concrete steps towards achieving a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. The Leaders also outlined an APEC Growth Strategy for achieving high quality growth in the region that is balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative, and secure.
APEC 2011 will focus on realizing this vision, in pursuit of APEC’s central mission of promoting trade and investment in order to increase economic growth and employment in the Asia-Pacific. APEC 2011 will build towards a seamless regional economy that will ensure long-term prosperity in the region by achieving practical, concrete, and ambitious results.
Toward a Seamless Regional Economy
In 2011, APEC will build towards a “seamless regional economy” by achieving concrete outcomes, particularly in three specific priority areas: (1) strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade; (2) promoting green growth; and (3) expanding regulatory cooperation and advancing regulatory convergence. These efforts will advance the Yokohama Vision and the APEC Growth Strategy.
Strengthening Regional Economic Integration and Expanding Trade
As directed by the Yokohama Vision, APEC will seek to strengthen economic integration by working to define, shape, and address the next generation trade and investment issues that should be included in 21st century trade agreements in the region, including a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). This will include work to eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade and prevent new barriers from emerging, agreeing to adopt policies and regulations that foster innovation and promote trade in technology, and advancing structural reform in APEC economies.
APEC will also continue to work to make it cheaper, easier, and faster for businesses – particularly small and medium-sized businesses – to trade in the region, including by taking steps to reduce the time, cost, and uncertainty of moving goods and services through the supply chain.
Promoting Green Growth
APEC will actively promote environmentally sustainable economic growth and development (“Green Growth”), and help our economies successfully transition to a clean energy future. For example, APEC will accelerate efforts to address barriers to trade in environmental goods. It will also seek to remove tariffs and non-tariff barriers related to advanced technology demonstration products (such as vehicles) and remanufactured/recycled goods. Additionally, APEC will explore ways to contribute to global efforts to eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and to combat trade in illegal forestry products.
Expanding Regulatory Cooperation and Advancing Regulatory Convergence
APEC will work to improve the quality of the regulatory environment in the Asia-Pacific in order to prevent unnecessary barriers to trade and to enable businesses to more easily navigate emerging requirements. Specifically, it will look to increase transparency in the rule-making process, improve the quality of regulations, and increase alignment of APEC economies technical regulations and standards, especially related to new green technologies by expanding cooperation on regulatory issues.
Achieving Results
To fulfill the Yokohama Vision and the APEC Growth Strategy, APEC will intensify efforts to streamline and strengthen the way APEC does business. All activities, from high-level to technical-level events, will focus on solving problems and achieving clear, meaningful progress towards APEC goals.
To this end, APEC will seek to increase opportunities for the private sector to provide input into APEC's work during 2011. APEC plans to hold multiple private sector-led activities throughout the year on topics ranging from energy and transportation to innovation and trade, food security, and women’s entrepreneurship that will allow APEC officials to draw upon recommendations from industry and other stakeholders when developing initiatives and outcomes.
APEC 2011 will also structure initiatives and organizational procedures to better foster cross-cutting cooperation among the various APEC working groups, and to ensure their activities are fully aligned and integrated with APEC's core mission. Additionally, APEC will aim to tie funding to top priorities, while increasing capacity-building activities for developing member economies.