APEC Secretariat Report on Key Developments September 2011

Transcription

1 2011/SOM3/BMG/002rev1 Agenda Item: 4 APEC Secretariat Report on Key Developments September 2011 Purpose: Information Submitted by: APEC Secretariat Third Business Mobility Group Meeting San Francisco, United States 14 September 2011

2 APEC Secretariat Report on Key Developments September 2011 (a) APEC 2011 Priorities In 2011, APEC will build towards a seamless regional economy by achieving concrete outcomes, particularly in three specific priority areas: (1) strengthening regional economic integration (REI) and expanding trade; (2) promoting green growth; and (3) expanding regulatory cooperation and advancing regulatory convergence. A more detailed description of the 2011 priorities can be found in the APEC Outcomes and Outlook 2010/2011, which is available online at Further information on APEC USA 2011 can be found at (b) Key Outcomes of Ministerial, SOM and Committee Meetings Ministerial Meetings APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) met in Big Sky, Montana, on May. MRT issued two statements. The Statement of the Chair covered the following issues: strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade, promoting green growth, advancing regulatory convergence and cooperation, and strengthening economic and technical cooperation. The Chair s statement can be accessed at Statements/Trade/2011_trade.aspx. The second statement was on the WTO Doha Development Agenda Negotiations and Resisting Protectionism, and can be accessed at: Statements/Trade/2011_trade/2011_mrt_standalone.aspx. APEC Ministers responsible for the region s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) met in Big Sky, Montana, on 21 May. SME Ministers considered a range of policies and initiatives to foster greener, more innovative and competitive small businesses. The joint statement of the 2011 APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting can be accessed at: Papers/Ministerial-Statements/Small-and-Medium-Enterprise/2011_sme.aspx. A first-ever joint meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade and Ministers Responsible for SMEs was held on 20 May. APEC Ministers addressed a number of issues, including: the importance of SMEs to APEC economies; top barriers to SMEs trading in the region, including lack of access to financing, lack of capacity to internationalize and the need for open and transparent business environments; and actions to address those barriers. The joint statement issued following the meeting can be accessed at: Statements/Trade/2011_joint_tradeSME.aspx. The first APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry was held in Beijing on 7 September. The meeting released a Statement on Forests and Forestry, which can be accessed at: SOM Senior officials met for its second meeting of 2011 at Big Sky, Montana on May to seek deeper regional economic integration, promote sustainable growth, and facilitate job creation. Key points arising from SOM2 included the following: agreement to address next generation trade and investment issues this year, including facilitating global supply chains, enhancing SMEs participation in production chains, and promoting effective, non-discriminatory, and market-driven innovation policy.

3 Page 1 of 6 Discussion on how APEC can make progress to address trade and investment in environmental goods, technology and services. Senior Officials also agreed to advance work related to illegal logging and associated trade. Discussion of ways to further enhance the role of the private sector in APEC discussions. There was also endorsement of a Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy, which will engage the private sector. In light of natural disasters in the region, SOM3 considered steps to help strengthen emergency preparedness. Committees Strides were made toward the development of a work plan on fossil fuel subsidy reform. There was further progress on APEC s New Strategy for Structural Reform, under which each APEC member economy will work to identify its priority areas for structural reform before leaders meet again in Hawaii in November. The Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) met for the second time on May to discuss and advance its 2011 work program. Key outcomes from that meeting (see 2011/SOM2/021) included: - A list of recommendations on an appropriate process to review APEC economies progress towards achievement of the Bogor Goals that is less resource intensive and financially burdensome. - Agreement on a list of next generation trade and investment issues to be worked on in 2011: (i) Facilitating Global Supply Chains; (ii) Enhancing SMEs Participation in Global Production Chains; and (iii) Promoting Effective, Non-Discriminatory, and Market-Driven Innovation Policy. The list was subsequently adopted by the Ministers Responsible for Trade - Adopted a work plan to guide the Committee s work on implementing the Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPII) and the Supply-Chain Connectivity Framework and Action Plan. - The first dialogue of the APEC Regulatory Cooperation Process Advancement Mechanism (ARCAM) on the issue of Interoperability Standards for Smart Grid took place on May. - Agreement on a list of barriers to trade for SMEs in APEC that was adopted at the Joint MRT- SME Ministerial Meeting. CTI held an extraordinary session on August at the APEC Secretariat to further discuss the key issues which Ministers and Leaders were expecting it advance, namely next generation trade and investment issues, environmental goods and services and the Bogor Goal review process. CTI3 will be held in San Francisco from September. It will be preceded by a Workshop on Gateway and Corridor Approaches in the Asia Pacific in the morning of 18 September; a trade policy dialogue on Trade Benefits from Submarine Cable Protection on 18 September ( ); APEC Workshop on the Information Technology Agreement- Then, Now and In the Future on 19 September ( ); and TPD on Advance Rulings: Increasing Certainty and Predictability in Supply Chains on 21 September ( ). The Economic Committee (EC) met on 5-6 March. The EC discussed, among other issues, the APEC New Strategy on Structural Reform (ANSSR) and possible contributions by the EC to a wider ANSSR framework, potential areas for further work on competition policy in the context of structural reform, updates on the Ease of Doing Business Action Plan. The EC also considered the work plans of its five FotCs ie. competition policy, regulatory reform, corporate law and governance, public sector governance and ease of doing business. The annual APEC Economic Policy Report 2011 was published in time for the MRT meeting in Big Sky, Montana. EC1 held two policy discussions: on regulatory cooperation and convergence, and ease of doing business. The next EC meeting will be held in San Francisco on September The SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH (SCE) met on 15 May. SCE endorsed a proposal setting out a process for review of how independent assessments of sub fora are conducted with a view to making them more cost effective and valuable. The SCE also discussed the ongoing streamlining efforts for sub fora, final decisions on the merger or elimination of sub fora will be made by CSOM 2011.

4 Page 2 of 6 The second meeting of the Budget and Management Committee (BMC) was held on 26 April in Singapore. BMC2 noted and approved the financial reports of the APEC Secretariat, and also noted the budget savings that had been made by the organisation. It also endorsed the proposed AA budget and members contributions for 2012 and would recommend them to SOM and Ministers for approval. Issues around project management were also discussed at BMC2, including amending the current text in the Guidebook on APEC Projects to clarify issues in relation to direct contracting approaches and streamlining APEC payment systems to improve management efficiencies within the Secretariat. BMC2 also considered how completed APEC projects can be evaluated, with a more detailed options paper to be prepared for review and consideration by BMC intersessionally, and the subject to be further discussed at BMC3. (c) Issues relevant to BMG Group Tasking from Ministers/SOM/CTI: The recent meetings outcomes emphasize on the facilitation of SME, which imply the facilitating of travel of SME businessmen. There has not any direct new tasking from the recent Ministers/SOM/CTI Meeting. The BMG group will continue to implement it annual goals of the year which is in accordant with the tasking of last year and the priority of APEC this year. There are some regular works to be done as requested by CTI. Works to be done: Convenor s report: The report is expected to reflect the work of BMG for the year well as the outcomes of our meeting in the margins of CTI3. The information from Convenors Report will be drawn to populate the CTI 2011 Annual Report to Ministers which will be finalized very close to AMM in order for it to serve as a complete record of the work of CTI and its sub fora in Expected deadline is September. Collective Action Plan (CAP): As per practice of last year, the CAP is usually updated & tabled with the Convenor Report at CTI3 for considered and will be included as Appendix to the CTI Annual Report. Expected deadline is end of September. CTI Meeting: All sub-fora Convenors are invited to attend and participate in the discussions of the CTI (22-23 Sept) as they deem fit. For Convenors who will not be attending, the expectation would be for the CTI representative of the economy to update the CTI Chair. Short-term expected timeline for Project Proposal 14/Sep/2011 The BMG endorses the Concept Note at BMG3. 17/Sep/2011 PD submit approved Concept Note to CTI /Sep 2011 CTI reviews Concept Note and endorses. 26/Sep/2011 PP send Concept note to PD for informal consultation 29/Sep/2011 PP submits Concept Note to the Secretariat. 18 /Nov/2011 informal submission of full proposal to PD 02 Dec 2011 formal submission of full proposal (midnight Singapore time) Other Issues Usernames and passwords have been set up for BMG members in order to log in to find pre-meeting documents or archive documents of BMG in the APEC Information Management Portal (AIMP). The CPAU is working to adapt the BMG website using the second version of the APEC Website Template in February The PSU has finalised the Report on The Impact of Business Mobility in Reducing Trade Transaction Costs in APEC. Mr. Tu Anh Tuan, Program Director overseeing the BMG will hand over BMG portfolio to incoming Program Director from Indonesia after SOM III. (d) Developments within the Secretariat and Policy Support Unit (PSU) Key Staff Movements and Appointments

5 Page 3 of 6 There have been a number of staff movements in the Secretariat since SOM2 among the Program Directors. Ms Yumiko Honda from Japan succeeded Ms Hiroko Taniguchi in April; Mr Toni Widhiastono from Indonesia completed his term in June; Mr Mikiharu Shimizu from Japan succeeded Mr Takeshi Komoto in July; and Mr Alexy Sapetko from Russia succeeded Mr Andrey Plam in August. The Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Sim Cher Young resigned at the end of July. The duties of the COO have been divided between the Executive Director and Corporate Directors. Director of Finance Ms Elisa Leung has been on extended leave since 30 June In the interim, her duties are being covered by Director of Administration Mr Richard Grosse. The Policy Support Unit (PSU) also had several staff changes since SOM2. Senior Analyst Ms Ramonette Serafica resigned in June; Ms Belinda Chng was appointed as Policy Advisor in June succeeding Nathan Zhivov; Ms Azul Ogazón was appointed as Researcher in July succeeding Ms Hao Jing; and Ms Chang Hui Ling was appointed as Administrative Executive in July replacing Ms Tricia Then. Key dates The third SOM meeting of 2011 and related meetings will be held in San Francisco on September The APEC calendar of events can be found at Projects Project Approval Sessions Session 2 was completed in July 2011 with a total of 42 Concept Notes valued at US$4,094,796 approved during this session. The deadline for Session 3 will be 29 September, with full approval expected by the end of December. Funding under the new ANSSR sub-fund will be available from Session 3 for new proposals supporting APEC s structural reform agenda. Multi-year project pilot The trial of multi-year projects will commence in Session 3. Further information on multi-year projects is available on the APEC website, or through your Program Director. Contributions A number of contributions have recently been committed by members to APEC project funding: Japan will contribute JPY 14,000,000 to the APEC Support Fund (ASF); Russia has contributed US$3,000,000 to the ASF (US$1.5m earmarked for the Human Security Sub-Fund and US$1.5m earmarked for the ASF Science & Technology Development Sub Fund); and Australia has contributed A$3,000,000 for the new Sub-Fund on the APEC New Strategy on Structural Reform. Policy Support Unit PSU is currently undertaking several projects to support the work of different APEC groups. The list of ongoing projects is as follows: - TFAP II Final Assessment: PSU is supporting CTI to determine whether the goal of 5% reduction in trade transaction costs was achieved. - Supply Chain Connectivity Initiative: PSU is assisting CTI in identifying indicators that will be the basis to evaluate APEC s supply-chain performance in terms of time, cost and reduction of uncertainty. - Residential Workshop on Structural Reform: PSU provided assistance in organising this event in Singapore, held on August. - The Mutual Usefulness of APEC & TPP: PSU is writing a paper on this topic for a project on TPP by Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade Negotiations.

6 Page 4 of 6 - Ease of Doing Business Interim Assessment: PSU is conducting an assessment of APEC s progress towards the 5 percent interim improvement target by 2011 specified in the EoDB Action Plan. - Voluntary Reviews of Institutional Frameworks and Processes for Reforms: PSU is assisting the EC in examining the extent to which the key features for effective structural reform are present in an economy's institutions and government processes. Reviews are conducted on request by a participating economy. - PSU Policy Brief: The first issue of the policy brief on the Benefits of Structural Reform was published on 5 August. Issues will be published on a needs-basis. On StatsAPEC, PSU conducted the first data update of the year in May A second update process will be performed in October PSU collaborated with the WTO to deliver a report at the MRT meeting in May on key trends and developments relating to trade and investment measures in the APEC region. All of the PSU s work and the PSU work plan (which is updated monthly) are available on its website ( Media & Outreach With emphasis on the Communications FotC Branding Strategy, the Communications and Public Affairs Unit (CPAU) continues to carry out its operational plan for APEC Secretariat Executive Director Ambassador Noor has conducted significant outreach around the region and delivered speeches to key stakeholders since May 2011: St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: The evolution and continuation of a substantial agenda, St. Petersburg, Russia, 18 June PECC-USAPC-SINCPEC Conference, Growing APEC Economies: New Challenges and Approaches, Singapore, 30 June APEC Forum on Digital Economy and E-Commerce Development, Keynote address, Quanzhou, China, 13 July WTO Third Global Review, Geneva, Switzerland, July APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) 2.0 Workshop 2011, Opening remarks, Chinese Taipei, 26 July APEC Study Center - Chinese Taipei, Chinese Taipei, 26 July APEC Workshop on Facing Abnormal Flood Disasters: New Vision for APEC Economies, Opening remarks, Da Nang, Viet Nam, July th ASEAN and Asia Forum 2011 Economy, Energy, Environment, Can Asia Grow Trade More? New Sources of Growth, Singapore, 4 August Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) 2011: Asia Conference, At the Crossroads: Decisions in a Dynamic Asia, Seoul, Korea, 19 August Following the meeting with the ASEAN Secretariat at the end of July, Ambassador Noor and Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan published an op-ed, Working together to bring regional economic integration. On August 2, Ambassador Noor published an op-ed entitled Disaster preparedness secures APEC's growth. Since May, the APEC Secretariat has also received visits from a number of delegations, including the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, the School of Business at the University of Notre Dame, Australia, and the Dutch United Nations Student Association. The CPAU assisted UNCTAD with the launch of its World Investment Report by conducting a news conference in conjunction with the PSU. The APEC Secretariat has launched a photo competition. The winner will be announced in the margins of CSOM. The contest website is

7 Page 5 of 6 After the release of the second version of the APEC Website Template in February 2011, four fora, including TELWG, EC, BMG (work in progress) and ABAC have developed satellite websites to assist them with their outreach. CPAU is also planning a content management service for fora that cannot outsource website development to assist them with web content publishing. From the time it was launched in March 2011 until 1 September, APEC s official Facebook page has gained over 360 likes and its Twitter feed (@followapec) has attracted over 220 followers. CPAU has conceptualized a mobile application and has commenced its development. Designed as a reference tool, users can access this application on their smart phones to look up unfamiliar terms in the APEC Glossary. The final product should be ready to launch at CSOM. CPAU is planning to develop the mobile version of the APEC website to enable users to access the latest APEC news content on their smart phones. The mobile website has commenced its testing phase and should also be ready to launch at CSOM. The September 2011 edition of the APEC Bulletin has been published and highlights next generation trade issues, greening the supply chain, and women and the economy.

8 10/5/2011 Report of the APEC Secretariat on the Key Developments of APEC Business Mobility Working Group 14 September 2011 Presented by Tu Anh Tuan Program Director overseeing the BMG APEC Secretariat Key Outcomes of Ministerial, SOM and Committee Meetings 1. APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Issued 2 Statements: (i) Statement of the Chair emphasized on strengthening REI and expanding trade, promoting green growth, advancing regulatory convergence/cooperation, and strengthening economic and technical cooperation; and (ii) a Statement on the WTO Doha Development Agenda Negotiations and Resisting Protectionism. 2. SME Ministerial Meeting Considered a range of policies and initiatives to foster greener, more innovative and competitive small businesses. 3. First ever Joint SME MRT Ministerial Meeting Addressed a number of issues: top barriers to SMEs trading in the region, including lack of access to financing, lack of capacity to internationalize; the need for open and transparent business environments; and actions to address those barriers. 4. First ever Ministers Responsible for Forestry Meeting Released a Statement on Forests and Forestry. 1

9 10/5/2011 Key Outcomes of Ministerial, SOM and Committee Meetings 1. Key decision and issues arising from SOM II Agreement to address next generation trade and investment issues. Discussion on how APEC can make progress to address trade and investment in EGS SOM noted that good regulatory practices encourage economic growth, job creation, innovation, and trade, while also protecting public welfare. Discussion of ways to further enhance the role of the private sector in APEC dialogues; Considered steps to help strengthen emergency preparedness. Progressed toward the development of a work plan on fossil fuel subsidy reform. Further progress on APEC s New Strategy for Structural Reform, each APEC member economy will work to identify its priority areas for ANSRR before AELM in November Key Outcomes of Ministerial, SOM and Committee Meetings 1. Key outcomes from CTI 2 A list of recommendations on an appropriate process to review APEC economies progress towards achievement of the Bogor Goals Agreement on a list of next generation trade and investment issues to be worked on in 2011: (i) Facilitating Global Supply Chains; (ii) Enhancing SMEs Participation in Global Production Chains; and (iii) Promoting Effective, Non Discriminatory, and Market Driven Innovation Policy. Adopted a work plan to guide the Committee s work on implementing thesecondtradefacilitation ActionPlan (TFAPII) and the Supply Chain Connectivity Framework and Action Plan Adopted a work plan to guide the Committee s work on implementing the Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPII) and the Supply Chain Connectivity Framework and Action Plan. 2

10 10/5/2011 Issues relevant to the BMG Tasking from Ministers/SOM/CTI: The recent meetings outcomes emphasize on the facilitation of SME, which imply the facilitating ti of travel of SME businessmen. Works to be done: Convenor s report: Expected deadline is September. Collective Action Plan (CAP): Expected deadline is end of September 2011 Briefing to CTI (on Sept): Convenor or CTI representative of Chair Office will brief the CTI Chair on the outcome of the BMG meeting. Timeline for Project Proposal 14/Sep/2011 The BMG endorses the Concept Note at BMG3. 17/Sep/2011 PD submit approved Concept Note to CTI /Sep 2011 CTI reviews Concept Note and endorses. 26/Sep/2011 PP send Concept note to PD for informal consultation 29/Sep/2011 PP submits Concept Note to the Secretariat. 18 /Nov/2011 informal submission of full proposal to PD 02 /Dec/ 2011 formal submission of full proposal (midnight Singapore time) Issues relevant to the BMG Other Issues Usernames and passwords have been set up for BMG members in order to log in to find pre meeting documents or archive documents of BMG in the APEC Information Management Portal (AIMP). The CPAU is working to adapt the BMG website using the second version of the APEC Website Template in February The PSU has finalised the Report on The Impact of Business Mobility in Reducing Trade Transaction Costs in APEC. Mr. Tu Anh Tuan, Program Director overseeing the BMG will hand over BMG portfolio to incoming Program Director from Indonesia after SOM III. 3

11 10/5/2011 Issues relevant to the BMG A Sample APEC Web Template Further Information APEC Website APEC Calendar alendar_t.php APEC Secretariat 35 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore Telephone: (65) Fax: (65) info@apec.org 4