Senior Business Executives Deliver Recommendations to APEC Leaders, Successful Conclusion of WTO Negotiations Top Priority

Members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) have told APEC Leaders that they believe a rapid and successful conclusion to WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations is the top priority for the regional economy.

ABAC Members presented their annual report of recommendations and priority policy concerns when they met with APEC Economic Leaders today in Santiago.

ABAC Chair Hernan Somerville said "there is no other issue with such overarching importance to business, across the APEC region or globally, and we urged Leaders to creatively and vigorously seek an early conclusion of the round."

ABAC also took strong steps to combat corruption in the Asia Pacific region. Demonstrating the importance of Anti-corruption, ABAC members signed an Anti-corruption statement and urged APEC economies to take strong and concerted action.

ABAC Members also voiced concern over their perception that APEC is not on track to achieve its Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region on schedule. This represents a sufficient concern that ABAC wrote directly to Leaders three times this year.

In urging Leaders to take bold new measures to reinvigorate APEC's liberalization and facilitation agenda, ABAC called on Leaders to establish a high-level task force to examine the feasibility of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP).

"We are asking Leaders to conduct a feasibility study on a prospective FTAAP as a superior approach to the growing network of bilateral FTAs, and to practically advance liberalization as a step toward global liberalization" said Somerville.

"In addition, we are asking APEC Leaders to enhance the scope and effectiveness of APEC's trade facilitation initiatives."

At the meeting with Leaders President Lagos expressed interest in the ideas put forward by ABAC stating that he considered these proposals an important contribution to the APEC Process.

ABAC's recommendations to Leaders are outlined in its annual report to APEC Leaders, which covers business recommendations in six key issue areas:

ABAC's 2004 Report to APEC Leaders is available online at http://publications.apec.org/publication-detail.php?pub_id=459