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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.<ref name="apec.org">Template:Cite web</ref> Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> APEC started in 1989,<ref name= "History">Template:Cite web</ref> in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.<ref name="pecc.org">Template:Cite web</ref> Headquartered in Singapore,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific / Americas region,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and exerts significant global influence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite report</ref>
The heads of government of all APEC members except Taiwan (which is represented by a ministerial-level official as economic leader)<ref>Conditions not right for APEC attendance: Ma Template:Webarchive. The China Post (27 August 2013). Retrieved 12 April 2014.</ref> attend an annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host country. APEC has three official observers: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> APEC's Host Economy of the Year is considered to be invited in the first place for geographical representation to attend G20 meetings following G20 guidelines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
[edit]The initial inspiration for APEC came when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s series of post-ministerial conferences, launched in the mid-1980s, had demonstrated the feasibility and value of regular conferences among ministerial-level representatives of both developed and developing economies. By 1986, the post-ministerial conferences had expanded to embrace 12 members (the then six members of ASEAN and its six dialogue partners). The developments led Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke to believe in the necessity of region-wide co-operation on economic matters. In January 1989, Bob Hawke called for more effective economic co-operation across the Pacific Rim region. This led to the first meeting of APEC in the Australian capital of Canberra in November, chaired by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Attended by ministers from twelve countries, the meeting concluded with commitments to hold future annual meetings in Singapore and South Korea. Ten months later, representatives of 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC. The APEC Secretariat, based in Singapore, was established to co-ordinate the activities of the organisation.<ref name="History"/><ref name="pecc.org"/>
During the 1994 meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, APEC leaders adopted the Bogor Goals, which aimed for free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for industrialised economies and by 2020 for developing economies. During the November 1995 Ministerial Meeting in Osaka, Japan, a business advisory body named the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) composed of three business executives from each member-country was agreed to be established in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2001, APEC, in collaboration with five other international organisations (Eurostat, International Energy Agency, Template:Ill, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the United Nations Statistics Division) launched the Joint Oil Data Exercise, which in 2005 became the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI).
Meeting locations
[edit]The location of the annual meeting rotates among the members.
| Year | # | Dates | Country | City | Host Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1st | 6–7 November | Template:Flag | Canberra | Prime Minister Bob Hawke |
| 1990 | 2nd | 29–31 July | Template:Flag | Singapore | Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew |
| 1991 | 3rd | 12–14 November | Template:Flag | Seoul | President Roh Tae-woo |
| 1992 | 4th | 10–11 September | Template:Flag | Bangkok | Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun |
Member economies
[edit]
Currently, APEC has 21 members. The criterion for membership, however, is that each member must be an independent economic entity, rather than a sovereign state. As a result, APEC uses the term member economies rather than member countries to refer to its members. One result of this criterion is that membership of the forum includes Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, participating under the name "Chinese Taipei") alongside People's Republic of China (see Cross-Strait relations), as well as Hong Kong, which entered APEC as a British colony but it is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. APEC also includes three official observers: ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.<ref name="apec.org"/>
| Member economy | Name as used in APEC | Date of accession | GDP (Nominal) in 2024 (Millions of US$)<ref name="IMF_GDP">Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flag | Australia | November 1989 | 1,802,006 |
| Template:Flag | Brunei Darussalam | November 1989 | 15,510 |
| Template:Flag | Canada | November 1989 | 2,214,796 |
| Template:Flag | Chile | November 1994 | 328,720 |
| Template:Flag | People's Republic of China | November 1991 | 18,273,357 |
| Template:Flag | Hong Kong, ChinaTemplate:Efn | November 1991 | 401,751 |
| Template:Flag | Indonesia | November 1989 | 1,402,590 |
| Template:Flag | Japan | November 1989 | 4,070,094 |
| Template:Flag | Malaysia | November 1989 | 439,748 |
| Template:Flag | Mexico | November 1993 | 1,848,125 |
| Template:Flag | New Zealand | November 1989 | 252,236 |
| Template:Flag | Papua New Guinea | November 1993 | 31,716 |
| Template:Flag | Peru | November 1998 | 283,309 |
| Template:Flag | The Philippines | November 1989 | 470,062 |
| Template:Flag | Russia | November 1998 | 2,184,316 |
| Template:Flag | Singapore | November 1989 | 530,708 |
| Template:Flag | Republic of Korea | November 1989 | 1,869,916 |
| Template:Flag | Chinese TaipeiTemplate:Efn | November 1991 | 775,017 |
| Template:Flag | Thailand | November 1989 | 528,919 |
| Template:Flag | The United States | November 1989 | 29,167,779 |
| Template:Flag | Viet Nam | November 1998 | 468,485 |
Leaders
[edit]Current leaders
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Possible enlargement
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India has requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, South Korea, Australia,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Papua New Guinea.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Officials have decided not to allow India to join for various reasons, including the fact that India does not border the Pacific Ocean, which all current members do.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, India was invited to be an observer for the first time in November 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bangladesh,<ref name="applicants"/> Pakistan,<ref name="applicants"/> Sri Lanka,<ref name="applicants"/> Macau,<ref name="applicants"/> Mongolia,<ref name="applicants">Template:Cite web</ref> Laos,<ref name="applicants"/> Cambodia,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Costa Rica,<ref name=aq>Template:Cite news</ref> Colombia,<ref name=aq/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Panama,<ref name=aq/> and Ecuador,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are among a dozen other economies that have applied for membership in APEC. Colombia applied for APEC's membership as early as in 1995, but its bid was halted as the organisation stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the moratorium was further prolonged to 2007 due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Business facilitation
[edit]As a regional organization, APEC has always played a leading role in the area of reform initiatives in the area of business facilitation. The APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPI) has contributed to a reduction of 6% in the cost of business transactions across the region between 2002 and 2006. According to APEC's projections, the cost of conducting business transactions will be reduced by another 5% between 2007 and 2010. To this end, a new Trade Facilitation Action Plan has been endorsed. According to a 2008 research brief published by the World Bank as part of its Trade Costs and Facilitation Project, increasing transparency in the region's trading system is critical if APEC is to meet its Bogor Goal targets.<ref>"Transparency Reform Could Raise Trade by $148 Billion in APEC" Template:Webarchive John S. Wilson & Benjamin Taylor; Trade Facilitation Reform Research Brief, The World Bank. 2008.</ref> The APEC Business Travel Card, a travel document for visa-free business travel within the region is one of the concrete measures to facilitate business. In May 2010 Russia joined the scheme, thus completing the circle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Proposed FTAAP
[edit]APEC first formally started discussing the concept of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at its summit in 2006 in Hanoi. However, the proposal for such an area has been around since at least 1966 and Japanese economist Template:Interlanguage link multi's proposal for a Pacific Free Trade agreement proposal. While it gained little traction, the idea led to the formation of Pacific Trade and Development Conference and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980 and then APEC in 1989.
In the wake of the 2006 summit, economist C. Fred Bergsten advocated a Free Trade Agreement of Asia-Pacific, including the United States amongst the proposed parties to any agreement at that time.<ref>Bergsten, C. Fred, "Toward a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific", Peterson Institute for International Economics Number Pb07-2. Pdf can be found via Google. Retrieved 9 November 2014.</ref> His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support this concept. Relatedly, ASEAN and existing free trade agreement (FTA) partners negotiated the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), not officially including Russia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without China or Russia involved became the US-promoted trade negotiation in the region. At the APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, the three plans were all in discussion.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> President Obama hosted a TPP meeting at the US Embassy in Beijing in advance of the APEC gathering.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The proposal for a FTAAP arose due to the lack of progress in the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations, and as a way to overcome the "noodle bowl" effect created by overlapping and conflicting elements of the copious free trade agreements – there were approximately 60 free trade agreements in 2007, with an additional 117 in the process of negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.<ref name="BD">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, ASEAN+6 countries alone had 339 free trade agreements – many of which were bilateral.Template:Efn
The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade restrictions. The FTAAP would create a free trade zone that would considerably expand commerce and economic growth in the region.<ref name="BD"/><ref name="VG">Template:Cite web No reference to numbers of FTAs.</ref> The economic expansion and growth in trade could exceed the expectations of other regional free trade areas such as the ASEAN Plus Three (ASEAN + China, South Korea and Japan).<ref name="VSM">Policy Briefs in International Economics (PDF) Template:Webarchive</ref> Some criticisms include that the diversion of trade within APEC members would create trade imbalances, market conflicts and complications with nations of other regions.<ref name="VG"/> The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years, involving essential studies, evaluations and negotiations between member economies.<ref name="BD"/> It is also affected by the absence of political will and popular agitations and lobbying against free trade in domestic politics.<ref name="BD"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
At the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing, APEC leaders agreed to launch "a collective strategic study" on the FTAAP and instruct officials to undertake the study, consult stakeholders and report the result by the end of 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> APEC Executive Director Alan Bollard revealed in the Elite Talk show that FTAAP will be APEC's big goal out into the future.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Trans-Pacific Partnership included 12 of the 21 APEC members and had provisions for the accession of other APEC members, five of which expressed interest in membership.
APEC Study Centre Consortium
[edit]In 1993, APEC Leaders decided to establish a network of APEC Study Centres (APCs) among universities and research institutions in member economies. The purpose is to foster cooperation among tertiary and research institutes of member economies, thus having better academic collaboration on key regional economic challenges. To encourage independence from the APEC conference, the APCs are funded independently and choose their own research topics.<ref name="ASCC">Template:Cite web</ref>
As of December 2018, there are 70 APCs among the member economies. An annual conference is usually held in the host economy for that year.<ref name="ASCC" />
APEC Business Advisory Council
[edit]The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was created by the APEC Economic Leaders in November 1995 with the aim of providing advice to the APEC Economic Leaders on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector priorities, and to provide the business perspective on specific areas of co-operation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Each economy nominates up to three members from the private sector to ABAC. These business leaders represent a wide range of industry sectors. ABAC provides an annual report to APEC Economic Leaders containing recommendations to improve the business and investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and outlining business views about priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental organisation that is on the official agenda of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Annual APEC economic leaders' meetings
[edit]Since its formation in 1989, APEC has held annual meetings with representatives from all member economies. The first four annual meetings were attended by ministerial-level officials. Beginning in 1993, the annual meetings are named APEC Economic Leaders' Meetings and are attended by the heads of government from all member economies except Taiwan, which is represented by a ministerial-level official.<ref name="calendar"/>
Meeting developments
[edit]In 1997, the APEC meeting was held in Vancouver. Controversy arose after officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police used pepper spray against protesters. The protesters objected to the presence of autocratic leaders such as Indonesian president Suharto.<ref name="Pue 2000">Template:Cite book </ref><ref name="Wallace 1998">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Nuttall-Smith 1997">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Schmidt 1998">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BCCLA 1997 APEC">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="BCCLA 1997 Jones Arrested">Template:Cite press release</ref>
At the 2001 Leaders' Meeting 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 meeting also endorsed the Shanghai Accord proposed by the United States, emphasising the implementation of open markets, structural reform, and capacity building. As part of the accord, the meeting committed to develop and implement APEC transparency standards, reduce trade transaction costs in the Asia-Pacific region by five percent over five years, and pursue trade liberalisation policies relating to information technology goods and services.
In 2003, Jemaah Islamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin had planned to attack the APEC Leaders Meeting to be held in Bangkok in October. He was captured in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand by Thai police on 11 August 2003, before he could finish planning the attack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Chile became the first South American nation to host the Leaders' Meeting in 2004. The agenda of that year was focused on terrorism and commerce, small and medium enterprise development, and contemplation of free agreements and regional trade agreements.
The 2005 Leaders' Meeting was held in Busan, South Korea. The meeting focused on the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) 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, centred on reducing agricultural trade barriers. APEC leaders at the summit urged the European Union to agree to reduce farm subsidies. In a continuation of the climate information sharing initiative established by the APEC Climate Network working group, it was decided by the leaders to install the APEC Climate Center in Busan. Peaceful protests against APEC were staged in Busan, but the meeting schedule was not affected.
At the Leaders' Meeting held on 19 November 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 criticised North Korea for conducting a nuclear test and a 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. The United States and Russia signed an agreement as part of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
The APEC Australia 2007 Leaders' Meeting 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.<ref name=wnn>Template:Cite web</ref> Extreme security measures including airborne sharpshooters and extensive steel-and-concrete barricades were deployed against anticipated protesters and potential terrorists. However, protest activities were peaceful and the security envelope was penetrated with ease by a spoof diplomatic motorcade manned by members of the Australian television program The Chaser, one of whom was dressed to resemble the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The APEC Chile 2019, originally to be held 16–17 November 2019 in Chile, was cancelled due to ongoing protests by sections of its population over inequality, the cost of living and police repression.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The 2023 APEC meeting was notable for a lack of consensuses of group members on their stance over the Russia–Ukraine and Gaza conflicts as well as consensus for WTO reforms. The meeting between Biden and Xi was also seen as significant in terms of reducing tensions between the US and China.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
APEC leaders' group photo
[edit]At the end of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the leaders gather for the official APEC Leaders' Family Photo. A tradition has the leaders dressing to reflect the culture of the host member. The tradition dates to the first such meeting in 1993 when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton insisted on informal attire and gave the leaders leather bomber jackets. At the 2010 meeting, Japan had the leaders dress in smart casual rather than the traditional kimono.<ref name="no_kimono">Template:Cite news</ref> Similarly, when Honolulu was selected in 2009 as the site for the 2011 APEC meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama joked that he looked forward to seeing the leaders dressed in "flowered shirts and grass skirts". After viewing previous photos, and concerned that having the leaders dress in aloha shirts might give the wrong impression during a period of economic austerity, Obama instead decided it might be time to end the tradition. Leaders were given a specially designed aloha shirt as a gift but were not expected to wear it for the photo.<ref name="no_aloha_shirts">Template:Cite news</ref> Leaders in Bali, Indonesia at the 2013 conference wore a batik outfit; in China 2014 Tang suit jackets; in the Philippines 2015 barong tagalogs; in Peru 2016 vicuña wool shawls; in 2017 Vietnamese silk shirts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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APEC United States 1993
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APEC Brunei 2000
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APEC Summits
[edit]- Template:Flagicon APEC Australia 1989
- Template:Flagicon APEC Singapore 1990
- Template:Flagicon APEC South Korea 1991
- Template:Flagicon APEC Thailand 1992
- Template:Flagicon APEC United States 1993
- Template:Flagicon APEC Indonesia 1994
- Template:Flagicon APEC Japan 1995
- Template:Flagicon APEC Philippines 1996
- Template:Flagicon APEC Canada 1997
- Template:Flagicon APEC Malaysia 1998
- Template:Flagicon APEC New Zealand 1999
- Template:Flagicon APEC Brunei 2000
- Template:Flagicon APEC China 2001
- Template:Flagicon APEC Mexico 2002
- Template:Flagicon APEC Thailand 2003
- Template:Flagicon APEC Chile 2004
- Template:Flagicon APEC South Korea 2005
- Template:Flagicon APEC Vietnam 2006
- Template:Flagicon APEC Australia 2007
- Template:Flagicon APEC Peru 2008
- Template:Flagicon APEC Singapore 2009
- Template:Flagicon APEC Japan 2010
- Template:Flagicon APEC United States 2011
- Template:Flagicon APEC Russia 2012
- Template:Flagicon APEC Indonesia 2013
- Template:Flagicon APEC China 2014
- Template:Flagicon APEC Philippines 2015
- Template:Flagicon APEC Peru 2016
- Template:Flagicon APEC Vietnam 2017
- Template:Flagicon APEC Papua New Guinea 2018
- Template:Flagicon APEC Chile 2019
- Template:Flagicon APEC Malaysia 2020
- Template:Flagicon APEC New Zealand 2021
- Template:Flagicon APEC Thailand 2022
- Template:Flagicon APEC United States 2023
- Template:Flagicon APEC Peru 2024
- Template:Flagicon APEC South Korea 2025
- Template:Flagicon APEC China 2026
- Template:Flagicon APEC Vietnam 2027
Criticism
[edit]APEC has been criticised for promoting free trade agreements that would impose restrictions on national and local laws, which regulate and ensure labour rights, environmental protection and safe and affordable access to medicine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the organisation, it is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region" established to "further enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The effectiveness and fairness of its role has been questioned, especially from the viewpoints of European countries that cannot take part in APEC<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Pacific Island nations that cannot participate but stand to be affected by its decisions.
See also
[edit]- Anti-corruption
- ASEAN Free Trade Area
- Asia-Europe Meeting
- Asia-Pacific Trade Agreements Database
- East Asia Economic Caucus
- East Asia Summit
- List of country groupings
- List of multilateral free-trade agreements
- Pacific Alliance
- Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
- University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
Other organisations of coastal states
[edit]- Bay of Bengal Initiative
- Black Sea Economic Cooperation
- Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
- Union for the Mediterranean
Notes
[edit]Template:Noteslist Template:Reflist
References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:APEC Template:APEC leaders Template:APEC foreign ministers Template:APEC finance ministers Template:Eastern world Template:Economics Template:Regional organizations Template:International power
- Pages with broken file links
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- International economic organizations
- International political organizations
- International trade organizations
- International organizations based in Asia
- International organizations based in Oceania
- International organizations based in the Americas
- Organizations based in North America
- Organizations based in South America
- Asia-Pacific
- Trade blocs
- Business organisations based in Singapore
- International organisations based in Singapore
- Organizations established in 1989
- 1989 establishments in Asia
- 1989 establishments in Oceania
- 1989 establishments in North America
- 1989 establishments in South America
- Articles containing video clips