Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR TRADE
MEDIA RELEASE
AUSTRALIA TO TABLE APEC ACTION PLAN
Australia will table its APEC Individual Action Plan (IAP) during the
APEC senior officials meeting in Cebu, Philippines, on May 22-24, the Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Tim Fischer, said today.
"Early tabling of IAPs this year will provide the first concrete indication
of how APEC members intend to meet the trade and investment liberalisation
commitments agreed at the Bogor APEC Leaders meeting in November 1994,"
Mr Fischer said."It will also signal the start of a process of consultation
among all APEC members on their liberalisation plans. The Government will
be using these APEC consultations to pursue Australia's market access priorities
with other APEC members."Ministers will assess the IAP process throughout
the year, before the plans are finalised when APEC Ministers and Leaders
meet in November in the Philippines."
Mr Fischer said Australia's IAP would address the main trade liberalisation
issues of tariffs, non-tariffs, investment and services, although the 1996
IAP would not pre-judge the outcomes of the existing and previously announced
reviews into the passenger motor vehicle, textiles clothing and footwear,
and sugar sectors.
Other elements of the IAP dealt with important trade facilitation issues
such as standards and customs procedures, intellectual property rights,
competition policy, mobility of business people, and deregulation. Mr Fischer
said Australia's IAP reflected the positive contribution which Australia
has made on many of these issues. "Australia's plan is fully consistent
with the general principles of the Osaka Action Agenda agreed by leaders
in November 1995, including comprehensives, WTO consistency, comparability,
and transparency," Mr Fischer said.
"It is also consistent with the Government's commitment to ongoing
micro-economic reform. "Australia has done a great deal to liberalise
our market consistent with APEC goals, and we expect others to match our
record. The Government will pursue vigorously Australian trade and investment
priorities within APEC. "Discussions with industry will enable the
Government to explain the IAP process and to ensure industry interests are
fully reflected in consultations with other APEC members," Mr Fischer
said.
9 May, 1996
Background Notes:
APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) comprises Australia, Brunei,
Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, USA.
The Bogor Declaration of November 1994 committed APEC economies to
free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific no later than 2010 in the
case of industrialised economies and 2020 in the case of developing countries.
The Osaka Action Agenda of November 1995 agreed that Action Plans
would be submitted to the 1996 Ministerial Meeting in the Philippines for
assessment. Overall implementation of the Action Plans will begin in January
1997 and will be reviewed annually.