| Danial Norjidi |
THE second meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) for 2018 was recently held in Tokyo, bringing together Asia-Pacific business leaders.
The ABAC was created by APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC, and each economy has three members.
The ABAC meets four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to the leaders.
The April 16-19 meeting saw ABAC prepare a set of detailed recommendations for APEC ministers responsible for trade, meeting next month in Port Moresby.
Among the attendees were two members of ABAC Brunei, namely, Legislative Council member YB Nik Hafimi binti Abdul Haadii and Baiduri Bank Retail Banking and Branch Network Head Pengiran Azaleen bin Pengiran Dato Haji Mustapha.
YB Nik Hafimi shared with the Bulletin that the meeting was held “in shaping what ABAC is supporting for 2018 under Papua New Guinea’s chairmanship,” and noted that “working groups focussed on their themes 2018 as a continuation of achieving the Bogor Goals and APEC’s Vision of FTAAP.”
“As one of the Co-Chairs of ABAC’s MSME and Entrepreneurship Working Group (MSMEEWG) we are very focused on delivering a Marshall School study to identify the challenges and potential solutions for MSMEs to more successfully participate in cross-border activity and global value chains. This is not a standalone study but it’s continuity of a previous study done in 2015 by ABAC on the barriers in APEC for e-commerce,” she said.
On what aspects of the meeting were of notable significance to Brunei, she said, “Of particular relevance to Brunei is recognising the need to support and strengthen cross border investment flows to enhance productivity, innovation and infrastructure, as well as policies for pro-business environment, governance and supporting investments.”
Pengiran Azaleen also spoke on the meeting, saying “The meeting was fruitful in that member countries showcased the various initiatives that they are embarking on to enhance the trading environment within APEC.
“These ideas were discussed and deliberated before submitting recommendations to the respective APEC Ministers for Trade,” he said.
Asked what his biggest takeaway from the meeting was, he said, “There were a lot of ideas and issues put forward. The biggest take away for me was how ABAC members were passionate in promoting e-commerce in international trade offering real opportunities for MSMEs to participate internationally.”
ABAC’s report recommends important actions including measures to reduce or eliminate non-tariff barriers, expanding services trade and encouraging cross-border investment flows.
According to a press statement, ABAC Chair David Toua said, “Our region stands at a crossroads. One road takes us towards open markets, dynamic flows of goods, services, investment and people, and inclusive growth. The other takes us backwards towards protectionism, exclusion and regional economic slowdown.”
“We should not hold back progress in the Asia-Pacific,” he said, before touching on the set of detailed recommendations for APEC ministers for trade.
“APEC’s strength comes from the two pillars of deep economic integration within the region, and outward-looking engagement beyond the region. If we want truly inclusive growth for our communities, including for example for small business, women and those impacted by technological change, we must continue to reduce barriers to trade and investment, and not introduce new restrictions.
“While the integrity of the global rules-based WTO trading system, including its dispute settlement mechanism and economies’ concessions and obligations, must be fully respected, we are very concerned at the escalation of protectionist rhetoric and action in our region.
“Smaller and more vulnerable economies which play important roles in global value and supply chains must not become collateral damage,” said Toua.
The statement added that Toua noted the global rules-based trading system had served as the foundation of decades of economic prosperity and significant reductions in extreme poverty in the region, and its integrity needed to be maintained above all.
“We have given a strong message to trade ministers about our support for the WTO system and the value we place on pressing ahead towards a ‘Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific’ as a central part of our vision for the region post-2020, particularly with the welcome finalisation last month of one of the ‘pathways’ to FTAAP, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TransPacific Partnership. We call on the parties to ratify and implement the agreement as soon as possible.”
Toua also observed that APEC is well placed to show ambitious leadership on these issues given the positive outlook for global GDP and trade, which is forecast to grow by 4.4 per cent this year.
“That said, we must do more both to champion and to broaden access to the opportunities that come from trade liberalisation. It is clear that the distributional impacts of trade and growth in individual economies – while primarily a matter for domestic rather than trade policy – must be addressed. And governments and business must each play their part in restoring confidence in the contribution that trade and investment make to improving living standards and creating jobs,” said Toua.
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