TEXT: CHRISTOPHER 11/22 REMARKS TO APEC MINISTERS
(U.S. calls for swift conclusion of ITA at WTO)

Manila -- Liberalizing trade in information-technology products should top the agenda at the WTO ministerial in Singapore next month, according to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

In a statement before the eighth meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers November 22, Christopher said: "The United States believes that at Subic Bay, APEC leaders should call for the WTO's swift conclusion of the Information Technology Agreement."

"APEC economies lead the world in these industries of the future, and we share a critical interest in reducing barriers to trade in the computer and telecommunications industries," Christopher said. "The ITA would eliminate all tariffs on computers, software, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment -- a global market that generates more than half a trillion dollars in trade every year. The agreement will dramatically lower costs and raise productivity for every business and individual in the world that uses information technology."

The U.S. Secretary of State also called for APEC to show leadership on the WTO's efforts to conclude the Basic Telecommunications Services Agreement.

"I urge all APEC members to come forward with new and better offers to ensure a successful conclusion of negotiations by the February deadline. With this agreement, the world's schools and businesses can build their own on-ramps to the Information Superhighway and take full part in today's global community," he said.

In addition, Christopher made two recommendations that can directly benefit the private sectors in each of the 18 APEC member economies.

"First," he said, "APEC should address the problem of conflicting professional standards among our economies. If we truly want to work together to build our skyscrapers and freeways with maximum efficiency, then architects and engineers from Seoul must be able to work as easily in Singapore, Santiago and Seattle as they do at home. Governments cannot solve this problem alone. In fields such as law, engineering, and architecture, the experts themselves play the key role in determining the standards for their licenses. I urge the APEC Business Council to work with private sector professional groups in order to develop mutual recognition agreements based on existing standards."

Second, Christopher said that APEC economies, individually and collectively, should modernize their policies on civil aviation. "The telecommunications revolution has bridged the vast distances that separate our Pacific Rim nations. But we are short-circuiting this revolution by holding on to outdated policies in civil aviation. We are impeding business travel, harming productivity and undermining growth. For our part, the United States will pursue open skies agreements with every APEC economy. We are working hard to reach an agreement with Japan. And we urge our APEC partners to liberalize their aviation agreements with each other."

Christopher also said APEC should push hard at the Singapore WTO ministerial to conclude the Uruguay Round's "unfinished business" in 1997, especially in financial services, and take up government procurement.

"The United States believes APEC should support a WTO agreement to increase transparency in government procurement. At the same time, we should intensify our work within APEC to adopt a set of principles to promote fair practices in government procurement, as I urged last year in Osaka," he said.

"Finally," Christopher said, "we should begin in Singapore a dialogue on the relationship between trade and core labor standards. The United States recognizes that different countries have different economic situations --including different wage rates -- and that labor standards are set in the ILO. We do not propose to interfere with those established standards. But workers everywhere should know that trade expansion will take into account their concerns. Such a discussion can only reinforce support for our trade goals."

Following is the official text of Christopher's statement, as prepared for delivery:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of Spokesman
(Manila, Philippines)

November 22, 1996

APEC MINISTERIAL INTERVENTION
BY
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE WARREN CHRISTOPHER

Philippines International Convention Center
Manila, Philippines
November 22, 1996

Secretary Siazon, Excellencies, colleagues, and friends: I would like to pay tribute to President Ramos, Secretary Siazon, Secretary Bautista, and their many colleagues for their hard work during the last year. Thanks to the skillful leadership of President Ramos , I am confident that the agreements our leaders will reach in Subic Bay will sustain the remarkable momentum APEC has generated over the last three years.

This is the kind of leadership we have come to expect from Asia's newest tiger. During the last decade, the Philippines has demonstrated that democracy and free markets reinforce one another. In the ten years since the People Power Revolution, the Philippines has achieved rapid growth, rising living standards, and broad political participation. I salute the Philippine people for the inspiring and instructive example they have set.

The recent success of the Philippines is one dramatic element of Asia's broader transformation. With the Cold War over, these lands of age-old tradition and new-found dynamism are together poised to enter an unprecedented era of security, stability and prosperity. When President Clinton took office, he understood America's enormous stake in the success of this transformation. He saw the need for the United States to remain a Pacific power in the next century no less than in the last. And he made a strategic choice to deepen America's engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

President Clinton also recognized APEC's potential to forge patterns of integration and cooperation in this new era. That is why, three years ago, he brought our leaders together for the first time. Years from now, we may look back on the Blake Island meeting as the moment when the leaders of this diverse region began to shape a common identity and purpose. Two years ago in Bogor, the leaders declared the historic goal of free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for developed economies and by 2020 for developing ones. Last year in Osaka, the leaders issued the Action Agenda that is our practical blueprint for carrying out those commitments.

As we gather here in Manila, we have reached an important new phase in APEC's evolution. Blake Island gave us our vision, Bogor our goal, and Osaka our blueprint. Now we must begin to take specific, concrete steps that will open up our economies and help lift the lives and living standards of our peoples.

Our individual action plans for liberalizing trade and investment will take each of our economies step-by-step toward our 2010/2020 goal. Although they are only the first installments in this process, they plan significant openings in our markets for goods and services. I congratulate member economies for taking such encouraging first steps'.

The U.S. individual action plan reflects -- and will reinforce -- the openness of our economy. It explains how we have already met the Bogor objectives in half of the 14 agreed-upon issue areas, and the steps we are taking in the remaining areas. Our action plan identifies where we already exceed the global commitments we made in the Uruguay Round. It also includes proposals on information technology and open skies that I will address later, and an initiative to ease business travel. The United States will offer 10-year multiple entry visas to short-term business visitors from any APEC economy that offers American business travelers reciprocal treatment.

Last year in Osaka, we established two core principles -- comprehensiveness and comparability -- to guide APEC's process of liberalization. We must adhere to these principles if we are to meet our 2010/2020 commitments and benefit all our economies.

Comprehensiveness means that we will ultimately open up every sector of our economies -- from agriculture to civil aviation. Given our region's economic diversity, the pace and sequencing of our actions will vary. But the bottom line is clear: if even one member economy protects a single sector, others will be denied economic opportunities. Other members may then be emboldened to protect their most important sector. That is why our goal of comprehensive liberalization is so important.

Our second principle, comparability, recognizes that we are not expected to take identical steps towards free and open trade because of our different starting points. But this principle does commit each of us to do our fair share -- to make similar efforts at each step of the way as we move forward to meet our common goals. A key task for the next year is ensuring that our individual action plans will accomplish this objective.

Beyond our individual action plans, the Manila Action Plan describes our collective actions to facilitate trade and investment. It calls on us to reduce the cost of doing business by eliminating administrative burdens and overcoming technical barriers. Already we have made progress in simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures, putting us on target to establish a region-wide electronic customs system by 2000. We are also reducing the cost of compliance with the disparate standards and technical regulations of our 18 economies. And we have published business guides on government procurement, intellectual property rights, and foreign investment regimes.

The Manila Action Plan also calls for a fresh approach to the other, complementary half of APEC's agenda -- economic and technical cooperation. Our cooperation has already extended to more than 320 activities in 13 different areas. As we look ahead, we must focus on six key areas -- human resources, capital markets, infrastructure, technology, the environment, and small-and-medium enterprises. In each area, we must concentrate on achieving concrete outcomes by a fixed deadline. And in each, we must make the private sector a full partner in shaping our specific goals.

Our first goal is to develop our human resources. Our highly-skilled work forces have propelled our economies to the vanguard of the global information revolution. But if we are to preserve our leadership, their skills must keep pace with technological change. That will mean putting into action this year's labor ministers' agenda for preparing the Workforce for the 21st Century. It will also mean expanding the Internet database that provides government and business with critical information on the regional labor market.

Improving human resources also means implementing the APEC Education Initiative, which was adopted at President Clinton's urging on Blake Island. This year, two U.S.-led projects have begun moving us toward our goal of increased regional cooperation in higher education.

The APEC Education Foundation, which I proposed two years ago in Jakarta, has begun raising funds and is now preparing to make its first grants. The Foundation will promote research, scholarship, and academic exchanges among our economies. I am pleased to announce that former Prime Ministers Anand of Thailand and Miyazawa of Japan, as well as former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thomas Foley, have agreed to serve on the Foundation's Board of Governors. Here in Manila, we will launch EduNet, a multi-media telecommunications network created by the University of Washington in Seattle. EduNet will enable APEC Study Centers scattered around the Pacific Rim to share information, coordinate research, and hold classes -- all through the Internet.

The second goal of our cooperation is to foster efficient and stable capital markets. Massive investments are needed to sustain this region's pace-setting economic growth. We have begun to identify the most successful policies to help strengthen financial markets and promote private financing for large projects. To attract more foreign capital, APEC economies must make transparent rules that build investor confidence. We must also develop common measures to combat money laundering.

Our third goal is to strengthen the infrastructure of our economies. For all the past success of APEC economies, serious gaps in the region's airports, harbors, and highways threaten to hold back future economic growth. If we are to meet these huge needs efficiently, we must foster effective public-private partnerships -- a goal that the United States and Indonesia highlighted at our successful meeting in July.

Our fourth goal is to harness technologies of the future. Computers, software, fax machines, and modems have driven the Asia-Pacific region's rapid economic growth. As the region becomes ever more integrated, our economies will need constantly to sharpen existing technologies and invent new ones. That is why we are cooperating to improve our scientific education and research. And here in the Philippines, we have established a center for sharing technology among small and medium enterprises within APEC.

The fifth goal is to promote environmentally-sound growth. As President Clinton has often said and so many other APEC leaders believe, pitting economic growth against environmental protection is a false choice. They are both necessary -- and they are closely linked. At President Clinton's suggestion, APEC Environment Ministers recently adopted an action program that includes initiatives for clean technology and production, clean oceans and seas, and sustainable cities. U.S. support for these goals is another example of our determination to place environmental issues in the mainstream of American foreign policy, and we look forward to making progress on them with our partners in the region.

The sixth and final goal of our cooperation is to ensure that our small and medium-sized enterprises fully participate in the economic dynamism of the region. Across our economies, they are engines of growth and catalysts for innovation. They are also our principal source of new jobs. That is why we want to encourage the exchange of information on trade and investment opportunities across our economies -- and why we would like APEC to help draw these firms into the world of Internet commerce.

Our cooperation in these six core areas will solidify the foundations for sustained economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. In APEC's cooperation efforts, no less than in our liberalization efforts, we must concentrate on achieving concrete results by a fixed deadline. That is why our efforts this year to heighten the engagement of the private sector are so important. They know the needs of the marketplace, and we need them to work with us to shape realistic objectives.

After all, one of the critical tests of APEC's success will be whether its work has practical relevance to the business community. Two years ago, I proposed establishing the APEC Business Council as a permanent forum for business participation within APEC. This past year the Council has come into its own with a very useful inaugural report.

Today I would like to make two recommendations that can directly benefit the private sectors in each of our economies. By moving ahead in these areas, we can show the business community that APEC means business.

First, APEC should address the problem of conflicting professional standards among our economies. If we truly want to work together to build our skyscrapers and freeways with maximum efficiency, then architects and engineers from Seoul must be able to work as easily in Singapore, Santiago and Seattle as they do at home. Governments cannot solve this problem alone. In fields such as law, engineering, and architecture, the experts themselves play the key role in determining the standards for their licenses. I urge the APEC Business Council to work with private sector professional groups in order to develop mutual recognition agreements based on existing standards.

Second, APEC economies, individually and collectively, should modernize our policies on civil aviation. The telecommunications revolution has bridged the vast distances that separate our Pacific Rim nations. But we are short-circuiting this revolution by holding on to outdated policies in civil aviation. We are impeding business travel, harming productivity and undermining growth. For our part, the United States will pursue open skies agreements with every APEC economy. We are working hard to reach an agreement with Japan. And we urge our APEC partners to liberalize their aviation agreements with each other.

The 1990s have been a defining decade in the evolution of the global trading system -- and during this time APEC has emerged as a leading force for liberalization. Three years ago, APEC stepped forward to ensure the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round. Now, at next month's first meeting of World Trade Organization ministers in Singapore, we once again have the opportunity-- and the responsibility -- to lead.

At the Singapore ministerial, liberalizing trade in information-technology products should top the agenda. APEC economies lead the world in these industries of the future, and we share a critical interest in reducing barriers to trade in the computer and telecommunications industries.

The United States believes that at Subic Bay, APEC leaders should call for the WTO's swift conclusion of the Information Technology Agreement by Singapore. The ITA would eliminate all tariffs on computers, software, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment -- a global market that generates more than half a trillion dollars in trade every year. The agreement will dramatically lower costs and raise productivity for every business and individual in the world that uses information technology.

APEC must also show leadership on the WTO's efforts to conclude the Basic Telecommunications Services Agreement. I urge all APEC members to come forward with new and better offers to ensure a successful conclusion of negotiations by the February deadline. With this agreement, the world's schools and businesses can build their own on-ramps to the Information Superhighway and take full part in today's global community.

Beyond information technology, the Singapore ministerial can also give our economies a chance to promote the full implementation of commitments made in the Uruguay Round. Last July APEC Trade Ministers showed leadership by pledging that all our economies would be fully up to date in implementing our commitments by the time of the Singapore meeting. We must also push hard to conclude the Uruguay Round's "unfinished business" in 1997, especially in financial services.

In Singapore, we must also take up government procurement. APEC economies have massive infrastructure requirements, and need fair competition from low-cost, high-quality global suppliers. We must honor the pledge made last year in Osaka to contribute to global progress on this issue. The United States believes APEC should support a WTO agreement to increase transparency in government procurement. At the same time, we should intensify our work within APEC to adopt a set of principles to promote fair practices in government procurement, as I urged last year in Osaka.

Finally, we should begin in Singapore a dialogue on the relationship between trade and core labor standards. The United States recognizes that different countries have different economic situations -- including different wage rates -- and that labor standards are set in the ILO. We do not propose to interfere with those established standards. But workers everywhere should know that trade expansion will take into account their concerns. Such a discussion can only reinforce support for our trade goals.

Let me conclude by observing that the United States has a great stake in APEC's success in part because America has truly become an Asia-Pacific nation. Almost 10 million Asian-Pacific Americans have enriched our culture, enlarged our economy and enlivened our democracy. When Americans of all heritages look across the ocean that links us, we see a future of opportunity. That is why more and more companies find themselves equally at home from San Francisco to Shanghai; more and more American state governors and mayors look to Asia for economic partnerships; and more and more of our students enroll at each other's universities and learn each other's languages.

The United States is committed to helping APEC succeed in shaping a Pacific future of prosperity and stability. We have made historic commitments that will bring our economies and our peoples together. I am confident that we will meet them. Thank you very much.

(end text)