Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation
or APEC, is the premier forum
for facilitating economic
growth, cooperation, trade and
investment in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation or APEC is the
only inter governmental
grouping in the world operating
on the basis of nonbinding commitments,
open dialogue and
equal respect for the
views of all
participants. Unlike
the World Trade Organization (WTO) or other

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

multilateral trade bodies (MTB), APEC has no treaty
obligations required of its participants.

APEC Member Countries Shown In Green

Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus

and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

APEC has 21 members - referred to as "Member
Economies" - which account for approximately 41% of
the world's population, approximately 56% of world
Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) and about 49% of world trade.

Headquarters of APEC in Singapore

MEMBER ECONOMIES
APEC currently has 21 members, including most
countries with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean. By

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

convention, APEC uses the term member economy to
refer to one of its members.

Roh Moo-hyun with the-P.M of Japan Shinzo Abe and U.S. President
George W. Bush
at APEC 2006 in Hanoi.

Member economy

Australia
Brunei
Canada
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
New Zealand

Date of accession
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989
1989

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Singapore
Republic of Korea
Thailand
United States
Republic of China[2]
Hong Kong, China[3]
People's Republic of
China[4]
Mexico
Papua New Guinea
Chile
Peru
Russia
Vietnam

1989
1989
1989
1989
1991
1991
1991
1993
1993
1994
1998
1998
1998

India

has

membership

in

requested
APEC,

and

received initial support from

the United States, Japan
Australia.

Officials

[5]

from

and
the

member economies are in the

process of discussing whether
to allow India to join. [6][7] There
is a concern among Western countries that India's entry
might tilt the balance of power in APEC in favor of Asia.
[8]

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

In addition to India
Colombia

[9]

Mongolia,

Ecuador

[10]

Pakistan,

Laos,

are among a dozen countries

seeking membership in APEC by 2008. Colombia

applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but
its bid was halted as the organization stopped accepting
new members from 1993 to 1996,[11] and the
moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the
1997 Asian Financial Crisis[12].

Guam has also been

actively seeking a separate membership, citing the

example of Hong Kong, but the request is opposed by
the United States, which currently represents Guam.

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

PURPOSE AND GOALS

APEC was established in 1989 to further enhance
economic growth and prosperity for
the region and to strengthen the AsiaPacific community.
Since its inception, APEC has
worked to reduce tariffs and other
trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific
region, creating efficient domestic
economies and dramatically
increasing exports. Key to achieving
APEC's vision are what are referred to
as the 'Bogor Goals' of free and open
trade and investment in the AsiaPacific by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020
for developing economies. These goals were adopted by
Leaders at their 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia.
Learn more about the Bogor Goals in the 1994
Leaders' Declaration. Fee and open trade and
investment helps economies to grow, creates jobs and

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

provides greater opportunities for international trade
and investment. In contrast, protectionism keeps prices
high and fosters inefficiencies in certain industries.
Free and open trade helps to lower the costs of
production and thus reduces the prices of goods and
services - a direct benefit to all.

Achievements and Benefits

Economic Growth:
Since its inception in 1989, the APEC region has
consistently been the most economically dynamic part
of the world. In its first decade, APEC Member
Economies generated nearly 70 percent of global
economic growth and the APEC region consistently
outperformed the rest of the world, even during the
Asian financial crisis.
PEC Member Economies work together to sustain this
economic growth through a commitment to open trade,
investment and economic reform. By progressively
reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade, APEC
Member Economies have become more efficient and
exports have expanded dramatically.

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Benefits to the People in the APEC

Region:
Consumers in Asia-Pacific have both directly and
indirectly benefited from the collective and individual
actions of APEC Member Economies. Some direct
benefits include increased job opportunities, more
training programmes, stronger social safety nets and
poverty

alleviation.

More

broadly

however,

APEC

Member Economies on average enjoy lower cost of

living because reduced trade barriers and a more
economically competitive region lowers prices for goods
and services that everyone needs on a daily basis, from
food to clothes to mobile phones.

Scope of Work
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) works in
three broad areas to meet the Bogor Goals of free and
open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010
for developed economies and 2020 for developing
economies.

Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Known as APEC's 'Three Pillars', APEC focuses on three
key areas:
Trade and Investment Liberalization
Business Facilitation
Economic and Technical Cooperation
The outcomes of these
three

areas

APEC

enable
Member

Economies

to

strengthen

their

economies by pooling
resources

within

the

region and achieving efficiencies. Tangible benefits are

also delivered to consumers in the APEC region through
increased

training

and

employment

opportunities,

greater choices in the marketplace, cheaper goods and

services and
improved access to international markets.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Trade and Investment Liberalisation:

Trade

and

Investment
Liberalisation
reduces

and

eventually eliminates
tariff and non-tariff
barriers to trade and
investment.
Protectionism is expensive because it raises prices for
goods

and

services.

Thus,

Trade

and

Investment

Liberation focuses on opening markets to increase trade

and

investment

among

economies,

resulting

in

economic growth for APEC Member Economies and

increased

standard

living

for

of
all.

Business
Facilitation:
Business

Facilitation

focuses on reducing the

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

costs of business transactions, improving access to
trade information and aligning policy and business
strategies to facilitate growth, and free and open trade.
Essentially, Business Facilitation helps importers and
exporters in Asia Pacific meet and conduct business
more efficiently, thus reducing costs of production and
leading to increased trade, cheaper goods and services
and

more

employment

expanded

Economic

opportunities

due

to

an

economy.

and

Technical

Cooperation

(ECOTECH)
ECOTECH is dedicated to providing training and
cooperation to build capacities in all APEC Member
Economies to take advantage of global trade and the
New

Economy.

This

area

builds

capacity

at

the

institutional and personal level to assist APEC Member

Economies and its people gain the necessary skills to
meet their economic potential.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

HOW APEC OPERATES

APEC - A Multilateral Economic
Forum:
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) operates as a
cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum. It
is unique in that it represents the only
intergovernmental grouping in the world committed to
reducing trade barriers and increasing investments
without requiring its members to enter into legally
binding obligations. The forum succeeds by promoting
dialogue and equal respect for the views of all

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

participants and making decisions based on consensus
to achieve its free and open trade and
Investment goals.
APEC Member Economies take individual and collective
actions to open their markets and promote economic
growth. More information about these actions is
available in the Action Plans section of this website.

Host Economy:
Every year one of the 21 APEC Member Economies
plays host to APEC meetings and serves as the APEC
Chair. The APEC host economy is responsible for
chairing the annual Economic Leaders' Meeting,
selected Ministerial Meetings, Senior Officials
Meetings, the APEC Business Advisory Council and the
APEC Study Centres Consortium and also fills the
Executive Director position at the APEC Secretariat.
The Deputy Executive Director position is filled by a
senior diplomat from the
economy which will host in the next year.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Funding:
APEC

is

not

organization.
APEC

donor

Instead,

activities

are

centrally funded by small

annual
from

contributions
APEC

Member

Economies - since 1999 these have totaled US$3.3

million each year. From 2009 onwards, members'
contribution will increase by 30% to US$5 million.
These contributions are used to fund a Secretariat in
Singapore and various projects which support APEC's
economic and trade goals. Since 1997 Japan has
provided additional funds for projects (between US$ 1.6
and 4.6 million annually, depending on amount and
exchange rates) which support APEC's trade and
investment liberalisation and facilitation goals. Projects
generally Relate to the priorities of APEC Economic Leaders
and APEC Ministers

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

Cover the interest of at least several APEC Member
Economies
Build capacity
Improve economic efficiency, and
Encourage the participation of the business sector,
non-governmental institutions and women.
APEC's Project Database contains information about
all APEC projects.
APEC Member Economies also provide considerable
resources to assist in the operations of APEC. These
include the secondment of professional staff to the
Secretariat; the hosting of meetings; and partial (or full)
funding of some projects.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

APEC SECRETARIAT
The APEC Secretariat is based in Singapore and
operates

as

the

core

support mechanism for the

APEC process. It provides
coordination,

technical

and advisory support as

well

as

management,

information
communications

and

public

outreach

services.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

The APEC Secretariat performs a central project
management role, assisting APEC Member Economies
and APEC fora with overseeing more than 230 APECfunded

projects.

APEC's

annual

budget

is

also

administered by the APEC Secretariat.

Staffing:
The APEC Secretariat is headed
by an Executive Director and a
Deputy Executive Director. These
positions are filled by officers of
Ambassadorial

rank

from

the

current and incoming host economies respectively. The

positions rotate annually. For 2008, the Executive
Director is Ambassador Juan Carlos Capuay from Peru.
The APEC Secretariat is staffed by a small team of
program

directors,

Economies.
specialist

In
and

seconded

addition,
support

from

APEC

professional
functions

at

Member

staff

fulfill

the

APEC

Secretariat.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

ISO Certification:
In 2002, the APEC Secretariat obtained ISO 9001:2000
Quality Management Certifications. This recognizes the
continuous efforts made by the APEC Secretariat to
provide improved administrative and support activities.
The APEC Secretariat is the first multilateral traderelated secretariat to attain ISO certification.

Summit Developments
In 1997, the APEC summit was held in Vancouver.
Controversy arose after officers of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police used pepper spray against protesters.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

The protesters objected to the presence of autocratic
leaders such as Indonesian president Suharto.

2001 APEC summit, Shanghai, China

At the 2001 summit in Shanghai, APEC leaders pushed

for a new round of trade negotiations and support for a
program of trade capacity-building assistance, leading
to the launch of the Doha Development Agenda a few
weeks later. The summit also endorsed the Shanghai
Accord proposed by the United States, emphasizing the
implementation of open markets, structural reform, and
capacity building. As part of the accord, the summit
committed

to

develop

and

implement

APEC

transparency standards, reduce trade transaction costs

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

in the Asia-Pacific region by 5 percent over 5 years, and
pursue

trade

liberalization

policies

relating

to

information technology goods and services.

2003 APEC summit, Bangkok, Thailand

In 2003, Jemaah Islamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin had

planned to attack the APEC summit to be held in
Bangkok in October. He was captured in the city of
Ayutthaya, Thailand by Thai police on August 11, 2003,
before

he

could

finish
planning

the

attack.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

2004 APEC summit, Santiago, Chile

Chile became the first South American nation to host

the summit in 2004. The agenda of that year was
focused on terrorism and commerce, small and medium
enterprise development, and contemplation of free
trade agreements and regional trade agreements.

2005 APEC summit, Busan, South Korea

The 2005 summit was held in Busan, South Korea. The

meeting focused on the Doha round of World Trade
Organization

(WTO)

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

negotiations,

leading

up

to

the

WTO

Ministerial

Conference of 2005 held in Hong Kong in December.

Weeks earlier, trade negotiations in Paris were held
between several WTO members, including the United
States and the European Union, centered on reducing
agricultural trade barriers. APEC leaders at the summit
urged the European Union to agree to reducing farm
subsidies. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged
in Busan, but the summit schedule was not affected.
At the summit held on November 19, 2006 in Hanoi,
APEC leaders called for a new start to global free-trade
negotiations

while

condemning terrorism
and other threats to
security.

APEC

also

criticized North Korea

for

conducting

nuclear

test

and

missile test launch that year, urging the country to take

"concrete

and

effective"

steps

toward

nuclear

disarmament. Concerns about nuclear proliferation in

the region was discussed in addition to economic topics.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

The United States and Russia signed an agreement as
part

of

Russia's

bid

to

join

the

World

Trade

Organization.
The APEC Australia 2007 summit was held in Sydney
from 2-9 September 2007. The political leaders agreed
to an "aspirational goal" of a 25% reduction of energy
intensity

correlative

with

economic

development.

[19].However, protest activities were peaceful and the

security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof
diplomatic motorcade manned by members of The
Chaser, one of which was dressed to resemble the AlQaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

APEC to Decide Whether to Let India Join

January 11, 2007 - 7:34PM

Asia-Pacific nations will mull over whether to admit

India to their club as one the biggest political
gatherings in Australia's history starts in Canberra
next week.
Senior officials and about 800 delegates from 21
Asia

Pacific

Economic

Co-operation

(APEC)

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

economies will head to the national capital for two
weeks of meetings.
The gathering kicks off a series of events around
Australia over the year, culminating in a leaders'
meeting in September.
US President George W Bush, Chinese President
Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Shinzo Abe will be
among the leaders heading to Sydney for one of the
biggest events Australia will ever host.
The security bill for APEC alone is expected to
gobble up more than half of the $300 million price
tag for the summit.
Senior officials will begin the work of setting the
agenda for the final Sydney meeting over the next
two weeks.
Australia's APEC ambassador David Spencer said
the Asia-Pacific region was crucial to Australia's
economy, with eight out of its top 10 export
markets from the APEC region.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

"Our economic, political and security future is very
much enmeshed in the region, as is our prosperity
and stability," he said.
The economies will focus on a wide agenda,
including multi-lateral trade liberalisation, energy
security and ways to further integrate trade in the
region.
The APEC region includes some of the fastestgrowing countries in the world but one exclusion is
India, which has been prevented from joining the
grouping

by

10-year

moratorium

on

new

members.
APEC countries will this year for the first time look
at whether to lift the moratorium, with a dozen
nations already expressing interest in joining the
club.
Apart from India, countries keen to join APEC
include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and
Burma.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

But Mr Spencer admits most interest surrounds
whether India - along with China at the centre of
the economic boom in Asia - will become a member.
"If you look at the economic significance of the
members who have expressed interest in APEC, the
most important by far, economically, strategically,
politically, would be India," he said.
"Clearly it is India that will weigh heavily on
peoples'

minds

about

the

potential

for

new

members."
Mr Spencer believes there is unlikely to be any real
movement on the matter until leaders meet in
September.
"The general attitude in APEC in the past has been
we're not a closed shop. We want to deal with
countries outside the region and non-members," he
said.
"(But) whether we decide ... we'd rather stay as we
are at this stage to consolidate some of the work
that we're doing, or whether let's (allow) some of

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

those in or let's bring all of them in. That remains
to be seen."

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an
inter-governmental forum facilitating economic growth
and prosperity, cooperation, trade and investment in the
Asia-Pacific region, and operates on the basis of nonbinding commitments, open dialogue and equal respect
for the views of all participants regardless of the size of
their economy.
From January to September 2007 Australia hosted a
series of APEC meetings focusing on areas of interest to
the nation, with over 100 days of ministerial, officialslevel and business-group meetings held across the
country.
The APEC 2007year culminated with the APEC
Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM) in early September,
the most significant international gathering of an
economic kind that Australia has hosted. The AELM
took place in an informal, relaxed retreat setting in
which leaders addressed issues of strategic importance
that affect the region. At the conclusion of discussions,
leaders issued the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration,
which contained the shared views of leaders and set the
strategic directions for APEC for the next year.

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Asia Pecific Economic Cooperation

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
International Marketing

Magazines:
Business Today March3, 2007 subscription
India Today August 5, 2007 subscription

Articles:
The Times of India- August 31, 2004
Economic Times- April 7, 2006
Hindustan times- March 30, 2007

Websites:
www.apec.org
www.answers.com
www.google.com
www.whitehouse.gov

en.wikipedia.org

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