Fact Sheet: "e-APEC Strategy" Endorsed by Pacific Rim Ministers
(Economies need to strengthen market structures, institutions)

Ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies have endorsed an "e-APEC Strategy" designed to strengthen market structures and institutions, according to an October 19 fact sheet issued by the U.S. State Department following the officials' 2-day meeting in Shanghai.

Following is the text:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
(Shanghai, People's Republic of China)

October 19, 2001

FACT SHEET: e-APEC Strategy

To develop and expand the Action Agenda for the New Economy that was agreed upon at the Brunei Ministerial, this year China, Australia, and the United States led the e-APEC Task Force to outline policies in three critical areas: 1) strengthening market structures and institutions, 2) facilitating infrastructure investment and technology development for on-line transactions, and 3) promoting entrepreneurship and human capacity building.

The "e-APEC Strategy" endorsed by the Ministerial Meeting sets out a comprehensive, long-term action agenda. Leaders will be asked to endorse and adopt the report as an annex to the Leaders Declaration. APEC economies will be directed to take concrete steps to implement the action agenda of the e-APEC Strategy.

The e-APEC Strategy sets out the need for economies to strengthen market structures and institutions. Key points include:

• Facilitate structural adjustment by promoting trade, e-commerce and investment liberalization.

• Ensure that any taxation of Internet services or e-commerce is clear, consistent, neutral and non-discriminatory; continue the WTO customs duty moratorium on electronic transmissions.

• Open public utilities to competition and privatization.

• Adopt international best practices in supervising financial institutions and markets; strengthen banking and financial regulations to world best standards.

• Promote training and technical assistance for fighting financial crime.

• Reduce barriers to competition and maintain an open policy stance for international trade and investment to reduce the costs of IT products and services, improve standards, and promote e-commerce.

• Foster the development of venture capitalists' entrepreneurial skills and fund managers' investment skills.

• Implement the 1996 WIPO treaties, TRIPs, the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention; update domestic intellectual property systems to meet the needs of the digital economy.

• Reduce or eliminate interest rate and price controls and subsidies -- direct or indirect -- impacting on the pricing of risk.

The report also illustrates the importance of creating an environment that will facilitate infrastructure investment and technology development. Key points include:

• Enhance cooperation and coordination on information security.

• Adopt international market driven standards for interoperability among systems.

• Liberalize telecom markets, modernize regulatory structures to accommodate converging technologies and services and remove impediments to private sector participation in the provision of high-speed communication services.

• Endorse the expedited implementation of the WTO agreement on Basic Telecommunications, and encourage the adoption of the GBT Reference Paper.

• Encourage the accession of all economies to the WTO information technology agreement.

• Continue the develop the policy framework to encourage investment, competition and lower prices for Internet services and develop government policies that increase the availability of education, training, and support for underserved groups.

• Work with the private sector to address gaps in the basic infrastructure in remote and underserved areas and share economy experiences and information regarding access for all.

The third pillar of the e-APEC Strategy explains the necessity for enhancing human capacity building and promoting entrepreneurship. Key points include:

• Address inequality of access to information and communications technology, in part by completing and adopting the APEC Digital Divide Blueprint for Action.

• Continue efforts not just to achieve basic education for all, but provide wider training opportunities, strengthen life-long learning, and expand cyber-education.

• Cooperation and information exchange: among APEC members, within society, and between APEC and other organizations.

• Encourage setting up of policies to facilitate financing for entrepreneurs.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

---

Return to The United States and APEC.

Return to IIP Home Page.