New trade measures top Apec agenda in Cebu meetings

New and aggressive measures to improve trade and economic growth across the region will be high on the agenda of some 2,000 officials from the 21 member states of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) as they convene in Cebu over the next two weeks.

Specifically, Apec officials are expected to move forward with the drafting of a collective strategic study on issues related to the realization of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), led by China and the United States. The said agreement is expected to build on the liberalization gains in the region, possibly on the ongoing negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

“Regional economic integration is high on the agenda as the potential stepping stones for an FTAAP to come into clearer view and Apec members will work out the hard details on how to get there. Fleshing out emerging issues that the FTAAP should contain to ensure next generation growth is a priority right now and will lay the foundation for what lies ahead,” Alan Bollard, executive director of the Apec secretariat, said in a statement issued Monday.

“Increasing services sector demand and breakthroughs in technology and mobility in the region are creating significant market opportunities among groups that have benefited less from globalization in the past. Apec members are intent on breaking down barriers to wider participation in cross-border trade and business development to reduce inequality and solidify growth within the region’s economies,” Bollard said.

According to the Apec secretariat, the formulation of a new Apec Services Cooperation Framework, the identification of viable market opening reforms in related sectors and facilitation of small business participation in cross-border production and supply chains will be a parallel focus.