For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 21, 2001
Fact Sheet on APEC's Free Trade Goals
The Shanghai Accord
U.S. Leadership in Achieving APEC's Free Trade Goals
"Together, we must meet the Bogor goals -- including free trade for every
nation in this region by 2020. The Shanghai Accord we will sign ... gives
us new and useful tools to enhance trade and investment."
President George W. Bush
October 20, 2001
APEC's Free Trade Goals: APEC's primary objective, established at
the 1994 Leaders' Meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, is to achieve free and
open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by 2010 for
developed countries and 2020 for developing countries. In 1995, Leaders
adopted the Osaka Action Agenda, which provided a blueprint to achieve
these goals.
The Shanghai Accord: To revitalize momentum towards APEC's free
trade goals and promote global growth, the United States proposed that
APEC's trade agenda culminate this year in the adoption of the
"Shanghai Accord". Today in Shanghai, APEC Leaders endorsed the Accord,
which broadens APEC's vision to embrace the New Economy and includes
specific actions to strengthen APEC's commitment to meet the Bogor
goals. The key elements of the Accord include:
-- A 5 percent reduction in transaction costs over the next five
years through the elimination of red tape.
-- Use of so-called "Pathfinder" initiatives, which enable a group
of countries to pilot initiatives and which encourage other members to
participate later.
-- Agreement to develop and implement transparency principles for
investment rules, regulations, and standards, and for government
procurement procedures to ensure good governance.
-- A "Trade Policy for the New Economy" initiative that commits
APEC economies to pursue trade policies on services, intellectual
property, and tariffs that will encourage development of the New
Economy.
-- A new, more rigorous system of peer review to track members'
progress toward the Bogor free trade goals.
The U.S. Commitment to Capacity Building: The United States
affirmed in the Shanghai Accord the need to strengthen economic and
technical assistance and capacity building efforts. President Bush is
committed to reaching out to developing countries to ensure that they
have the capacity to benefit from open markets.
The United States has been a leader in trade capacity building,
providing $1.3 billion in funding worldwide and $165 million for APEC
economies between 1999 and 2001.
-- The Shanghai Model Port Project is a key example. This
U.S.-China partnership with the private sector has established a
cutting edge customs service training program in China and made the
Port of Shanghai a model customs entry point.
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