TEXT: USTR 11/15 NEWS RELEASE ON APEC SECTORAL AGREEMENT
(Barshefsky says agreement reaffirms APEC's leadership role)Washington -- U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said the just- completed Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreement to lower tariffs and other trade barriers in nine economic sectors will be used to encourage the conclusion of a similar agreement at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"This agreement reaffirms APEC's leadership role in shaping and advancing the global trade agenda," Barshefsky said in a November 15 news release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The United States, she added, will use the APEC decision "to foster the conclusion of a binding WTO agreement."
The nine sectors represent $1.5 trillion in global trade today. The sectors are environmental goods and services, medical equipment and instruments, chemicals, energy sector goods and services, forest products, fish, toys, gems and jewelry, and telecommunications equipment.
The November 1998 agreement comes one year after the APEC leaders launched a comprehensive program to open markets in 15 sectors. The goal was to complete work on nine sectors in 1998.
APEC has also agreed to "advance market-opening work in the six other sectors covering $1.6 trillion in trade," Barshefsky said. These sectors are autos, oilseeds, food, civil aircraft, fertilizer, and rubber.
Following is the text of the release:
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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20508BARSHEFSKY WELCOMES APEC SECTORAL AGREEMENT
PLANS TO MOVE INITIATIVE TO WTOU.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky welcomed completion of an APEC agreement to lower tariffs and other trade barriers in 9 key sectors worth over $15 trillion in global trade today. "This agreement reaffirms APEC's leadership role in shaping and advancing the global trade agenda," Barshefsky said. "We agreed to strive to conclude an agreement in the WTO by the end of 1999 on this 9 sector package. We have successfully applied the approach we employed with the information Technology Agreement and expanded it to cover these nine sectors. That is, we will use APEC support for this package to foster the conclusion of a binding WTO agreement. To APEC's credit, this sectoral initiative was created within APEC, and we have concluded much more of the specific work on product coverage, and the time frames and other arrangements for tariff cutting -- in most cases eliminating tariffs -- in these sectors than in the ITA.
"We have also agreed at this meeting to advance market-opening work in the six other sectors covering $1.6 trillion in trade selected by APEC Leaders last November in Vancouver. In particular, with respect to autos, we agreed to launch immediately a forum for addressing regional trade and investment issues. Taken together, this two-year sectoral initiative is an important and constructive catalyst for on-going progress in opening markets and expanding trade around the world."
The agreement reached by APEC Ministers at this meeting concludes a process launched by APEC Leaders last November in Vancouver. During the course of 1998, APEC has worked on finalizing the specific elements in each sector, which in June resulted in basic agreement on the end dates and end rates for tariff reduction, and the specific product scope. Since June, the work has focused on ways of addressing product specific concerns of economies, as well as an ambitious work program on business facilitation, economic and technical cooperation, and the completion of technical work on the energy and environment sectors, as well as other aspects of the work program such as services.
"What we have agreed to today fulfills the original aim we had for this project when it was initiated last year," Barshefsky said, "that is to build APEC support for a specific set of tariff cutting measures, and apply the collective leverage of APEC to attain an agreement in the WTO."
As part of the agreement, APEC Ministers will immediately initiate a process in the WTO aimed at concluding an agreement in 1999 in all sectors. APEC economies pledge to work constructively to achieve critical mass in the WTO necessary for concluding agreement in all 9 sectors.
"There is obviously still work to do to complete global agreements in these sectors next year, and, in particular, Japan will need to participate constructively in the WTO process next year, as we have all agreed. While we have been deeply concerned with Japan's role in this process, we are pleased that they have agreed to work toward this common goal next year. But at this difficult time in Asia, it was critically important to demonstrate APEC's continued leadership role in opening world markets. I am particularly grateful to Malaysian Minister Rafidah Aziz for the expert way in which she has led the process this year."
In November 1997, APEC Leaders launched a comprehensive program to open markets in 15 sectors. Ministers were directed to finalize work in 9 of these sectors in 1998: chemicals, medical equipment and scientific instruments, environmental goods and services, forest products, fish, the energy sector, toys, gems and jewelry, and a mutual recognition agreement in telecommunications. In addition, work was initiated on six other sectors: autos, oilseeds, food, civil aircraft, fertilizer, and rubber.
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