Paperless Trading

Ministers believe that the implementation of APEC's paperless trading goals, as defined in the Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce, would assist business to reduce costs, save time and increase efficiency. Accordingly, we endorse the report from Senior Officials on "Progress Towards Implementation of APEC's Paperless Trading Goals" and commend the progress and best practice examples identified. We note the ongoing challenges and the need for further APEC economic and technical cooperation to assist economies to overcome these challenges.

We stress the importance of economies providing a legal and regulatory environment for paperless trading which is predictable, transparent, consistent and technology neutral, and the value of interoperable electronic systems. Noting the catalytic role of governments as both users and enablers of e-commerce, we call on economies to consider steps towards placing government information services on-line including, as appropriate, government procurement and trade administration services, and to report on these issues through Senior Officials to our next meeting in Brunei, for subsequent consideration by Leaders. We also call on those economies in a position to commit to specific targets dates to do so.

We call on economies to devote greater attention to user requirements for open standards and systems in government interaction with business and the public to facilitate interoperability.

We recognise the important role of APEC economic and technical cooperation in assisting economies to implement the paperless trading goals. We call upon all relevant APEC fora to develop capacity building programs to assist economies, in particular developing economies, to implement paperless trading, including in the areas of government procurement and trade administration services, and to report to Senior Officials at their first meeting in 2001 utilising the paperless trading matrix being developed by the E-Commerce Steering Group, the Subcommittee on Customs Procedures and the Transportation Working Group.

We reiterate the call in the Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce for economies to develop seamless legal, technical, operating and trading environments for electronic commerce. With this in mind, we call for the convening of a High Level Symposium on Paperless Trading, to meet in 2001, to provide improved direction to and coordination of APEC activity to assist economies to meet the paperless trading goals. We welcome the offer of China to host the Symposium and propose that it be attended by high level officials from relevant agencies, including customs, quarantine, justice, telecommunications and transport administrations. We call for Senior Officials to develop an agenda for the Symposium for our consideration in November.