SMEs get lift from Apec

BUSINESS leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc are making a push for regional trade deals that can provide the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the 21 member economies equal opportunities to grow and participate in global value chains.

Doris Magsaysay Ho, chair of the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac), said they will urge economic ministers at the meetings in Boracay next week, to “pick up the pace and to complete current negotiations on pathways” toward several agreements namely the Free Trade Area of the Pacific (FTAAP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

“For us, the FTAAP, which Abac first proposed 10 years ago, is the most practical vehicle to achieve the kind of sustainable and inclusive environment that our leaders envisioned when they created Apec in 1989,” Ho said in a statement.

Abac believes that the signing of these agreements will help eliminate the remaining barriers to trade and investment among the Apec member economies, including the Philippines. These are expected to help create an open, predictable and transparent business environment that allows all sectors and communities to have meaningful access to economic opportunities. This will, in turn, enable the creation of more meaningful jobs and greater prosperity for communities.

“The removal of barriers and the facilitation of physical, human and institutional connectivity to allow all our communities to participate fully in the global economy will encourage inclusive growth. This is why we attach equal importance to empowering both individuals and business, particularly SMEs, to take advantage of the opportunities of regional economic integration,” Ho said.

The Abac is also advocating a number of initiatives aimed at boosting human capital development, strengthening services sectors, and enhancing participation of SMEs in global value chains as a way to provide equal access to growth opportunities.