Summary of the 1999 APEC Ministerial MeetingsFact Sheet released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsU.S. Department of State, August 13, 1999 |
APEC held four ministerial-level meetings in 1999. A summary of the results of the ministerials follows:
Finance Ministerial
The sixth APEC Finance Ministerial was held May 15-16 in Langkawi, Malaysia. Ministers met in a much different context than the previous year. The financial crisis that plagued the region had abated and there were signs of a return in investor confidence. However, ministers noted that serious challenges remained, particularly in restructuring the financial and corporate sectors, and in dealing with the effects of the crisis on the poor and the vulnerable. Ministers reviewed the financial situation in the region and explored ways to strengthen economic fundamentals to accelerate the recovery process and to meet longer-term challenges. Ministers discussed the individual and collective roles of economies in contributing to regional and global stability. They committed to working together to sustain recovery, persevere with reforms, and support efforts to strengthen the international financial architecture.
Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) Ministerial
The sixth SME Ministerial was held April 27-28 in Christchurch, New Zealand. It distinguished itself by the New Zealand hosts' efforts to include the private sector in a direct dialogue with ministerial representatives from APEC. Thematically, the joint private-public dialogue focused on five main themes related to SME development: Effects of the Financial Crisis, Education, Trade Barriers and Compliance Costs, Capital Markets, and Enhancing Business Linkages. In general, ministers agreed that SMEs have been especially vulnerable in the wake of the financial crisis and economic decisions made in APEC economies directly and disproportionately affect SMEs. Ministers also endorsed a U.S. private sector-led initiative, called Consumer Education and Protection Initiative (CEPI), to educate consumers and public officials effective consumer protection measures and to promote understanding of legitimate direct selling activities.
Trade Ministerial
APEC Ministers responsible for trade met June 29-30 in Auckland, New Zealand. They advanced considerably a common APEC stance on the upcoming Seattle WTO Ministerial meeting and the launch of a new round of WTO negotiations, agreeing that negotiations should cover industrial tariffs in addition to the "Built-in Agenda" (agriculture and services) specified in the Uruguay Round. They also agreed that the new WTO round should be concluded within three years. Ministers instructed officials to give further consideration to WTO Ministerial issues and report to them in September.
Ministers also completed discussions on the so-called "Back Six" sectors of the Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) initiative (Auto Dialogue, Civil Aircraft, Fertilizer, Food, Oilseeds, Rubber) by resolving that the "tariff elements should be negotiated in the WTO under the Built-in Agenda and the negotiations on industrial (non-agricultural) tariffs, which they agree should be launched at the Third WTO Ministerial."
Human Resources Development Ministerial
The Third APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial meeting took place July 27-29 in Washington, D.C. Human Resources Ministers from APEC member economies discussed matters related to labor market programs, social safety nets, and workplaces of the 21st century. The ministers agreed on the importance of coordinated action to deal with the lingering social economic dimensions of the Asian Financial Crisis and to build lasting foundations for human resource development in the next century. Ministers called for the APEC Human Resource Development Working Group to work on a variety of issues, including promotion of women's economic advancement, unemployment or social insurance programs, and labor-management relations. Additionally, Ministers called for the Working Group to develop a project to exchange information on best practices for eliminating the worst forms of child labor.
Ministers also endorsed increasing collaboration and information exchange with and among other regional and international organizations as well as placing human resource development and other employment policies at the center of economic policy and cooperation.
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