Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member

economies[1] that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was
established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific
economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; to fears
that highly industrialised Japan (a member of G8) would come to dominate economic
activity in the Asia-Pacific region; and to establish new markets for agricultural
products and raw materials beyond Europe.[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific_Economic_Cooperation

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was established in 1989. Its
primary purpose is to facilitate economic growth and prosperity in the region, with the
vision of creating a seamless regional economy. APEC pursues these objectives
through trade and investment liberalisation, business facilitation, and economic and
technical cooperation.
APEC aims to strengthen regional economic integration by removing impediments to trade and
investment at the border, enhancing supply chain connectivity "across the border" and improving the
business environment "behind the border". It endeavours to improve the operating environment for
business by reducing the cost of cross-border trade, improving access to trade information and
simplifying regulatory and administrative processes. APEC also assists member economies build the
institutional capacity to implement and take advantage of the benefits of trade and investment reform.
APEC supports the multilateral trade negotiations underway in the WTO, and complements the goals of
the G-20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth in the Asia-Pacific Region.
Private sector engagement is central to APEC's success. The APEC Business Advisory Council
(ABAC), established in 1995, represents the interests of business in APEC. ABAC is composed of up
to three members from each of the 21 member economies, with business representatives appointed by
APEC Leaders. The annual APEC CEO Summit and regular Industry Dialogues also provide
opportunities for regional business leaders to interact with APEC and address key issues affecting
business in the region.
APEC operates on the basis of non-binding commitments and open dialogue. Decisions made within
APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis.
The APEC Secretariat is based in Singapore. It provides coordination, technical and advisory support as
well as information management, communications and public outreach services. The Secretariat is
headed by a fixed-term Executive Director, appointed for a period of three years. The Secretariat is also
home to the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU). The PSU assists APEC's deliberations by providing
research, analysis and policy support. More information on APEC, including its structure, committees
and activities, can be found on APEC's official website.

APEC members
APEC has 21 member economies:

Australia
Brunei Darussalam
Canada
Chile
People's Republic of China
Hong Kong, China
Indonesia
Japan
Republic of Korea
Malaysia
Mexico
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Peru
The Republic of the Philippines
The Russian Federation
Singapore
Chinese Taipei
Thailand
United States of America, and
Viet Nam.

Indonesia hosted APEC in 2013. China, the Philippines and Peru will host APEC in 2014, 2015 and
2016 respectively.

http://dfat.gov.au/international-relations/regional-architecture/apec/pages/asia-pacificeconomic-cooperation-apec.aspx

The Objectives of APEC

1. Objectives
1. To Sustain the growth and development of the region for the common good its peoples
and, in this way, to contribute to the growth and development of the world economy.
2. To enhance the positive gains, both for the region and the world economy,resulting from
increasing economic interdependence,including by encouraging the flow of goods,
services, capital and technology.
3. To develop and strengthen the open multilateral trading system in the interest of AsiaPacific and all other economies.
4. To reduce barriers to trade in goods and services and investment among participants in a
manner consistent with GATT principles, where applicable, and without detriment to

other economies.

http://www.ckp.or.jp/apec/basic/object.html

BENEFITS
What are the benefits of being an APEC member?
As a multilateral forum, APEC provides its 21 member economies, together with the business
community and other parties, an avenue to discuss issues that impact the Asia-Pacific region. It
provides these stakeholders an arena to exchange ideas, opinions, concerns, and plans towards the
strengthening of the regions future growth.
Developing and developed economies benefit significantly from APEC. APEC provides developing
economies additional information and guidelines relating to areas such as development of procedures,
policy frameworks, and other systems that deal with contemporary issues. Some of these issues include
transparency, governance, financial sector reform, and customs procedures. With the various APEC
forums ranging from working group meetings, seminars, up to the leaders meetings, representatives
from each country are given the opportunity to learn new skills and acquire the best practices from
other economies. Both developed and developing member economies have the opportunity to set
APECs agenda. APEC strengthens the individual and collective capacity of its member economies as
participants for economic analysis. It also facilitates an effective consultative forum, allowing
participants to promote their common interests and be able to push through these interests in larger
multilateral forums.
Lastly, businesses also gain an advantage and benefit from taking part in APEC. Such benefits include
the reduction of barriers and obstacles to trade across borders.

http://apec2015.ph/about-apec/primer/