APEC moving forward on trade facilitation

On 18 August 2014, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) announced that APEC economies are pressing ahead with efforts to accelerate trade and economic growth through the elimination of costly delays to the flow of goods as they cross international borders, undeterred by the unexpected challenge to implementation of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation now facing members of the World Trade Organization.

Senior customs and trade officials from the APEC region are currently meeting in Beijing for the first time since WTO members failed to enact a protocol on 31 July required to proceed with adoption of the agreement that would ease trade bottlenecks through greater simplification of customs rules and processes.

“The setback to the agreement is disappointing but APEC’s work on trade facilitation goes on,” echoed John Larkin, Chair of the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment, the central working-level body within APEC for advancing these issues. “Many elements of the agreement like single windows, authorized economic operators and the move from paper-based to electronic processes are objectives that APEC economies have long championed. We’re working to ensure that we take full advantage of them.”

Further details on cooperation within APEC on trade facilitation can be viewed here.