Fourth ABAC Meeting Concluded Today
The APEC Business Advisory Council, at its fourth and final meeting in 2008, has called on APEC Leaders and Ministers to seize the opportunity in responding to the global economic crisis to chart a course that will set all APEC economies on a path of recovery and renewed growth and development.
New policies and programs are needed to rebuild confidence. APEC economies must resist potential reactionary measures of protectionism and draconian regulation. Positive actions required include:
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Fiscal responses to invigorate demand through appropriate spending on public works, and tax incentives;
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Continued measures to ensure a smooth, orderly process of adjustment in financial markets;
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Trade liberalisation in the global and regional market; and
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Measures to alleviate the difficulties faced by small and medium sized enterprises, and to sustain and promote employment and stability in this vital sector of our societies.
ABAC urges that APEC endorse and support the proposals set out in the G-20 Declaration of 15 November for the implementation of reforms of financial systems.
It views the strong G-20 commitment to an open global economy as fully consistent with the APEC vision and calls on APEC Leaders to throw their weight behind steps to resolve the outstanding issues in the Doha Round of trade negotiations. It strongly supports also the undertaking by G-20 Leaders to refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports. ABAC asks APEC Leaders to match that commitment and consider establishing a process for monitoring and reporting on its implementation.
ABAC considers that accelerated measures to deepen trans-Pacific regional integration in an open and non-discriminatory way would also rebuild confidence among business in the APEC region. Work towards a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific is seen as a means by which this objective should be pursued.
ABAC hosted the second session of the 2008 Summit on small and medium sized enterprises in Lima on 17 November. This session and that held in Hangzhou, China, in August are tangible demonstrations of corporate social responsibility exercised by ABAC members. Many SMEs are being hard hit by the fallout from the global economic crisis. ABAC is urging Leaders to support proposals it has submitted for special programs for SMEs covering technological infrastructure, financing capacity building, and training.
Other issues considered at the ABAC meeting included trade and investment facilitation measures, labour mobility, food security, corporate social responsibility, energy security, ICT-enabled growth and intellectual property rights protection. Work on these and new projects will be continued in 2009 under the chairmanship of ABAC Singapore.
Note: ABAC, comprising influential members of the business community from across the 21 APEC member economies, provides advice from a business perspective to APEC Leaders and Ministers. It will engage in a Dialogue with APEC Leaders on Saturday 22 November on the current issues and concerns facing member economies.