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APEC’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) agenda has been an integral part of APEC's structural reform agenda since APEC Leaders endorsed the Leaders’ Agenda to Implement Structural Reform (LAISR) in 2004. In 2009, the EoDB initiative addressed key LAISR priorities in a pragmatic way, setting collective targets and encouraging measurable progress. The five priority areas for regulatory reform are namely:
- Starting a business
- Dealing with construction permits
- Getting credit
- Trading across borders
- Enforcing contracts.
In 2015, APEC Ministers endorsed the Renewed APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (RAASR) and the second EoDB Action Plan (2015-2018), which continued to help economies reduce behind-the-border barriers. The ministers also recognized "the contribution made by EoDB to remedy impediments to trade and commerce by lowering registration and transactions costs in the APEC region through targeted and tangible programs of work within defined indicator areas." The five priority areas remained unchanged.
In 2021, at the third Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting endorsed the Enhanced APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (EAASR) and the third EoDB Action Plan (2020-2025). The goal of the Third EoDB Action Plan is to improve the business environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and set an APEC-wide target of 12 percent improvement in priority areas by 2025. The priority areas are:
- Enforcing contracts
- Getting credit
- Registering property
- Resolving insolvency
- Protecting minority investors
Phase II Activities
- Starting a Business
- Getting Credit
- Dealing with Permit
- Enforcing Contracts
- Trading across Borders
Interim Progress Assessment Report (2011)