APEC Trade Ministers call on WTO Members to Progress Services Negotiations
APEC Trade Ministers have issued a joint statement calling on all WTO Members to meet the May deadline for submitting offers to progress services trade negotiations.
The joint statement, issued by ministers from APEC economies that are also Members of the WTO, has been sent to the Director-General of the WTO, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, by Korea's Minister for Trade, Mr. Kim Hyun Chong.
The APEC Ministers' statement highlights the need for progress to be made in the services areas including qualifications, licensing and standards in domestic regulations (Article VI:4), emergency safeguards (Article X), government procurement (Article XIII) and subsidies (Article XV).
The full text of statement that was presented to Dr. Supachai reads:
We, the Ministers Responsible for Trade of APEC economies who are members of the WTO*, are seriously concerned about the slow progress in the services negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). An urgent effort is required to impart momentum into these negotiations and to ensure a speedy and balanced outcome from the Round.Competitive services sectors are of crucial importance for the efficient functioning of our economies. They promote innovation, and they permit the easy interaction of all economic sectors. Meaningful offers in sectors and modes of supply of interest to all economies, with particular attention to be given to developing economies, will support these aims further.We recognize the importance of targeted technical assistance for WTO developing members with a view to enabling them to participate effectively in the negotiations. We also note that efforts should be made by WTO members to conclude the negotiations on rule-making under GATS Articles VI:4, X, XIII and XV in accordance with their respective mandates and deadlines.In Santiago in November 2004 we called on all APEC members to submit urgently their initial offers if they had not yet done so, and to meet the agreed WTO deadline of May 2005 for improved revised offers. All APEC members are aiming to achieve this. We now call on all other WTO members to do likewise. Doing so will make a substantial and tangible contribution to the Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference in December.
APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade scheduled due to hold their seventeenth annual meeting on June 2-3, this year on Jeju Island, Korea.
Progressing the Doha Development Round of WTO Negotiations is anticipated to feature prominently in discussions as APEC Member Economies prepare their collective contribution to the WTO Ministerial Meeting to be held in Hong Kong in December.
The letter from Mr. Kim to Dr. Supachai was posted from Seoul on May 9.
*APEC economies that are also WTO members are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand and United States. Russia and Viet Nam are negotiating to become WTO members and their support to this Ministerial Statement is without prejudice to the terms and position of their accession negotiations to the WTO.