Review Finds Australia on Track to Free Trade Goals

An independent APEC assessment has identified Australia as being ahead of schedule to achieve regional free trade and investment goals before the deadline of 2010, but potential issues have been identified in Australia's approach to free trade in animal and plant products.

The findings were presented in the 'Individual Action Plan (IAP) Study Report' on Australia's progress towards APEC's 'Bogor Goals' of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

Presented to a 'peer review session' of representatives of APEC member economies in Chiang Rai, Thailand, the report is an assessment of how well individual APEC member economies have progressed towards the Bogor Goals.

Agreed by APEC Leaders in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994, the Bogor Goals set the target of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region to be achieved by 2010 for industrialized economies and 2020 for developing economies.

The report prepared by independent expert, Professor Ippei Yamazawa, of the Waseda University School of Asia-Pacific Studies in Tokyo, stated it was anticipated Australia "will be able to achieve the Bogor Goals" of free trade and investment in Australia by 2010.

"In such areas as Tariffs, Non-Tariff Measures, Services, and Investment, Australia has implemented autonomous liberalisation beyond its Uruguay Round commitments so that it will reach the Bogor target by 2010 with continued efforts along the same lines," Professor Yamazawa noted in the report.

"As regards facilitation areas, Australia has been taking a strong initiative in implementing collective action plans in Business Mobility and Customs Procedures.

"It (Australia) has faithfully implemented the Osaka Action Agenda in Standards and Conformance and Intellectual Property Rights.

"Australia has gone ahead of many APEC members in arranging and implementing competition policy and deregulation."

The report was also complimentary of the Australian structure for implementing economic policy.

"Australia is assisted by its well-structured procedures of implementing economic policies, consistent with transparency and accountability, faithful to the economics textbook.

"It is also helped by being a medium sized economy with high dependence on trade and investment.

"Australians are outward-oriented so they are less receptive to domestic protectionist pressures than other APEC members."

However, the study noted constraints which have the potential to make trade and investment in animal and plant trade difficult and costly to negotiate.

"In order to maintain its natural plant and animal endowments on an isolated continent, Australia has been implementing strict quarantine procedures and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, which foreign foodstuff exporters find sometimes difficult to clear."

A final recommendation made by Professor Yamazawa was that Australia could do more to assist developing economies to achieve the Bogor Goals.

"Australia has actively pursued the Bogor Goals and its efforts should be highly praised.

However, Professor Yamawaza suggested that Australia could actually go beyond achieving its own Bogor Goal of 2010 and play an active role in assisting others, especially developing economy members, to make progress towards their Bogor Goal of 2020.

To reflect that role, Professor Yamawaza said Australia's IAP should include more information on its capacity building and technical assistance and cooperation in the chapters on Standard and Conformance, Customs Procedures, Intellectual Property Rights, and Competition Policy."

Every APEC member economy submits an annual Individual Action Plan (IAP) that provides details of how that economy expects to reach the Bogor Goals.

Other economies being reviewed in 2003 are Thailand and Canada. These reports are also being presented to representatives of APEC member economies on the eve of the first 2003 APEC Senior Officials meeting in Chiang Rai, Thailand, this week.

The reviews are conducted by a team comprised of an independent expert, a moderator and a discussant who are usually senior officials from an APEC economy, and a representative of the APEC Secretariat.

The full text of the 'Individual Action Plan (IAP) Study Report - Australia 2002' is available on the APEC Secretariat's Website: www.apecsec.org.sg

Report of Australia's Individual Action Plan (IAP) Peer Review
Annex 1 - Summary
Annex 2 - IAP Study Report-Australia 2002
Annex 3 - Discussant's Remarks
Annex 4 - Presentation by Australia
Annex 5 - Written Questions Received During the Session
Report of Australia's Individual Action Plan (IAP) Peer Review + All Annexes