The APEC Economic Committee (EC) promotes structural reform and strengthens APEC's capability in the analysis of long-term macroeconomic trends and studies of microeconomic issues.

In 2025, APEC structural reform ministers endorsed the Strengthened and Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (SEAASR), which will guide APEC’s work on structural reform until the end of 2030.

To achieve the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, the SEAASR seeks to address structural barriers and encourage domestic structural reforms that align with the following pillars:

1. Enabling Fair, Market-Oriented Competition;
2. Enabling Environment for Doing Business;
3. Promoting Innovation and Digitalisation; and
4. Empowering All to Achieve Their Economic Potential for Sustainable Economic Growth.

SEAASR encourages APEC economies to adopt the following three approaches to promote structural reform for inclusive growth:

1. Delivering the six core structural reforms (competition policy and law; strengthening economic and legal infrastructure; ease of doing business; regulatory reform; public sector governance; corporate law and governance) to improve market functioning and transparency
2. Implementing specific market reforms to improve innovation and competitiveness of business and achieve pro-inclusion benefits
3. Adopting a holistic approach to structural reform which combines core reforms, specific market reforms and broader policies to boost productivity and economic resilience

The Economic Committee meets twice a year and works closely with other relevant APEC fora and other stakeholders.

Contacts

Current Activities

Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting

The Economic Committee held the Fourth Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM), hosted by Korea, on  22-23 October 2025. Ministers endorsed the SRMM Statement as well as  the  Strengthened and Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (2025–2030) and the Fourth APEC Ease of Doing Business Action Plan (2025–2035). 

Economic Committee Meetings

The most recent EC meeting also took place in Incheon, Korea on 12-13 August 2025. Members discussed key structural reform topics, including corporate law and governance , ease of doing business, business priorities for structural reform, online dispute resolution, and Indigenous economies. Members also discussed the EC’s flagship APEC Economic Policy Reports (AEPRs). The APER in 2025 is on the topic of Structural Reform to Increase Participation in the Formal Economy,

The Economic Committee held the EAASR Final Review Meeting on 10 August 2025 in Incheon, Korea. The review reflected on EAASR’s implementation, share experiences and lessons learned, and further guide economies’ reform actions. The APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU) delivered the EAASR final review report.  . The meeting engaged stakeholders including officials from member economies, PSU, ABAC, PECC, UNIDROIT and UNCITRAL.   The review informed the development of the next structural reform agenda (SEAASR).

EC Publications, Websites and APEC Economic Policy Reports

The Economic Committee publishes an annual flagship APEC Economic Policy Report. The AEPRs provide in-depth analysis and policy recommendations relating to a specific structural reform-related topic. The most recent AEPR, Structural Reform and Financial Inclusion, was published in November 2024 and is available here.

The Economic Committee also produces other APEC publications. To view all EC publications, click here.

The Economic Committee has also published online resources and initiatives including on 

• Services, Structural Reform and Competition in the Digital Era
• Study on Issues in Implementing the ODR Collaborative Framework and Using ODR in APEC Courts
• International Regulatory Cooperation
• Structural Reform and Services
• Online Dispute Resolution

Capacity Building Projects

Economic Committee member economies implement various capacity-building projects (both APEC-funded and self-funded) relating to APEC’s structural reform agenda. Some recent capacity building events include:

• Joint EC-Group on Services (GOS) Workshop on Digital Services and Structural Reform – (Australia)
• Adopting Agile Regulatory Governance to Foster Innovation (Malaysia)
•  Workshop on Use of International Instruments to Legally Enable End-to-End Digitalization of Trade (Hong Kong, China)
• Structural Reforms for Disability: Increasing Economic Participation Through Access to Assistive Technology (Australia)
• Increasing Residents’ Income in APEC Economies Through Structural Reform (China)
• Exploring APEC’s Path Towards Empowering Sustainable Green Growth (Singapore)
• Secured Finance to Facilitate Sustainable Economic Growth and Improve Food Security (United States)
• Workshop on infrastructure regulation and competition from structural reform experiences in APEC (PNG)
• Using Digital Technology to Augment the Incorporation of Multi-Stakeholder Insights and Engagement in Policy Design: A Public-Private Capacity Building Workshop (United States)
• Workshop on Structural Reform to Advance Just Energy Transitions for Women and Other Groups with Untapped Economic Potential (United States)
• 17th Conference on Good Regulatory Practices (GRP17) (Peru)
• Joint EC-Group on Services (GOS) Workshop on Structural Reform and Services (Australia)
• Workshop on Implementation of ODR in APEC Economies including through the APEC ODR Collaborative Framework (Japan)
• Workshop on Secured Transaction Reform: Developing Tailored Approaches for Common Law and Civil Law Jurisdictions (United States)
• Virtual workshop on ‘Equality of Opportunities: APEC Experiences in Furthering Inclusive Economic Growth’ (United States)
• Workshop on ‘Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building on the APEC Collaborative Framework on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) to Improve Cross-Border Trade in Indonesia’ (Indonesia)
• Policy Dialogue on ‘Efforts to Promote Economic Opportunity and Inclusion: a Case Study on Indigenous Peoples’ (Canada)
• Gender and Structural Reform Workshop: Inclusive Access to Credit and Financial Services’ (United States)

Background

The APEC Economic Committee was established in 1994. In 2004, APEC leaders endorsed an ambitious work program called the Leaders' Agenda to Implement Structural Reform (LAISR). The agenda covered five areas for structural policy reform: regulatory reform, competition policy, public sector governance, corporate governance, and strengthening economic and legal infrastructure.

Building on the work in these five areas, APEC's structural reform agenda was expanded beyond the LAISR's priority areas through the APEC New Strategy for Structural Reform (ANSSR) initiative, launched in 2010,  the Renewed APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (RAASR), launched in 2015, and the  Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR) launched in 2021.

 In 2025, APEC structural reform ministers endorsed the Strengthened and Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (SEAASR)which will guide APEC’s work on structural reform until the end of 2030.