APEC MINISTERS CALL FOR DOHA ROUND RESUSCITATION
Pacific Rim trade ministers tried to give a boost to the WTO’s tortuous Doha Round negotiations during a meeting on 1-2 June in Ho Chi Minh City. The representatives from the 21-members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), representing 47 percent of world trade, reaffirmed their commitment to the multilateral trade talks.
For industrial goods, the ministers endorsed a ‘Swiss’ tariff-reduction formula "with two ambitious coefficients applying to developed and developing Members delivering real and meaningful market access improvements." Under this approach, the coefficients would set the ceiling level for Members’ industrial tariffs, slashing high tariffs more steeply.
With regard to farm trade, they pointed to the offers of subsidy cuts on the table. They called for more work on agricultural market access in particular, with specific attention to the ’special safeguard mechanism’ and ’special products’ for developing countries
The ministers stressed the importance of the new end-June deadline for a WTO framework agreement on agriculture and industrial tariffs, which had been set by WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy only two days prior to the meeting (see BRIDGES Weekly, 31 May 2006).
Vietnam Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said that APEC, like the WTO, represented "a diverse spectrum of interests and levels of economic development," and expressed hope that the ministers’ would help the Doha Round negotiations forward.
In addition, APEC ministers discussed ways to achieve the bloc’s goal to liberalise trade and investment flows among members by 2020; improve the transparency and quality of regional trade deals; promote trade facilitation; address intellectual property piracy; and avoid avian flu-related crises.
One day before the meeting began, the US and Vietnam formally signed a bilateral agreement on the latter’s WTO accession.
"Trade Ministers’ Personal Commitment to Break WTO Impasse," APEC NEWS RELEASE, 2 June 2006; "APEC Agrees Farm Subsidy Cuts to Jolt Stalled WTO," REUTERS, 2 June 2006; "APEC Trade Ministers Meet in Vietnam," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1 June 2006.