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GROUP 5
 History of APEC

The idea of APEC was firstly publicly broached by former Prime Minister of Australia
Bob Hawke during a speech in Seoul, Korea, on 31 January 1989. Ten months later, 12
Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra, Australia, to establish APEC. The founding
members were Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Indonesia; Japan; Korea;
Malaysia; New Zealand; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and the United States.
China; Hong Kong, China; and Chinese Taipei joined in 1991. Mexico and Papua New
Guinea followed in 1993. Chile acceded in 1994. And in 1998, Peru; Russia; and Viet
Nam joined, taking the full membership to 21.
Between 1989 and 1992, APEC met as an informal senior official- and ministerial-level
dialogue. In 1993, former US President Bill Clinton established the practice of an
annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to provide greater strategic vision and
direction for cooperation in the region.
The Objectives of APEC
Objectives
 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.
 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.
 To develop and strengthen the open multilateral trading system in the interest of Asia-Pacific and all
other economies.
 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.
 The characteristics of APEC
Dynamic economic growth continues
APEC is composed of economies spanning the broad pan-Pacific region, whose combined GDP amounts to more than half of
the world GDP, Further, the significance of APEC is all the more important in that it includes the economies with the highest rate
of growth in the world, namely the countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, the People's Republic of China, the
Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.
Not legally binding in nature
APEC is a forum for cooperation without legally binding mechanisms, and is not institutionalized like the United Nations or the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Simultaneous participation of the People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong
As a forum for consultations on economic issues, the APEC members participate not as countrics but as economics, and as a
result, delegates from the People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong participate in meetings simultaneously.
Consensus-based management
In APEC, when policy matters are to be decided, a decision is not based on a majority vote but on the principle of full
consensus among the members.
Diversity of member economies
As opposed to organizations like the European Union which focus on the European capitalist countries, which have achieved a
relatively high level of development, there is great diversity in the levels of economic development and social conditions
among the APEC member economies. For example, it is essential to remember that the per capita GNP of Japan and the
United States is several tens of times that of Indonesia and China, as one example of the diversity of this region. This diversity
should be taken into account.
 How APEC operates

APEC- A MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC FUROM

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) operates as a cooperative, multilateral

economic and trade forum. It is the only international intergovernmental grouping in
the world committed to reducing barriers to trade and investment without requiring its
members to enter into legally binding obligations. APEC achieves its goals by
promoting dialogue and arriving at decisions on a consensus basis, giving equal
weight to the views of all members.
APEC Member Economies report progress towards achieving free and open trade
and investment goals through Individual Action Plans (IAPs) and Collective Action
Plans (CAPs).
 Host Economy

Every year one of the 21 APEC Member Economies plays host to APEC meetings and
serves as the APEC Chair. The APEC host economy is responsible for chairing the
annual Economic Leaders' Meeting, selected ministerial meetings, senior officials’
meetings, the APEC Business Advisory Council and the APEC Study Centers
Consortium. Up until 2009, the host has also filled the position of Executive Director
of the APEC Secretariat. Since 2010, the appointment of the Executive Director has
been on a fixed-term basis of three years, and will be open to candidates from all
member economies.
Funding
APEC is not a donor organization. APEC activities are centrally funded by annual contributions from
APEC member economies presently totaling USD5 million. These contributions are used to fund a
Secretariat in Singapore and various projects which support APEC's economic and trade goals. Member
economies also provide voluntary contributions to support projects that advance APEC's trade and
investment liberalization and facilitation goals and to meet capacity-building needs, especially for APEC
developing economies. In general, projects do the following:
Relate to the priorities of APEC Economic Leaders and APEC Ministers
Cover the interest of at least several APEC member economies
Build capacity
Improve economic efficiency
Encourage the participation of the business sector, nongovernmental institutions and women
The Project Database contains information about all APEC projects.
Member economies also provide considerable resources to assist the operation of APEC. These include
the secondment of professional staff to the Secretariat; the hosting of meetings; and partial or full
funding of some projects.
 WHAT IS ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION?

is an intergovernmental grouping that operates on the basis of non-binding

commitments, open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all
participants. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a regional forum
established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-
Pacific . The 21 members of APEC aims to create greater prosperity for the
people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative
and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration. The
word ECONOMIES is used to described APEC members because the APEC
cooperative process is predominantly concerned with trade and Economic
issues, with members engaging with one another a economic entities.
APEC OR ASIAN-PACIFIC ECONOMIC
COOPERATION
▶ is the premier forum for facilitating
• economic growth
• cooperation
• trade
• and investment
APEC has 21 members. The word “economies” is used to describe APEC members
because the APEC cooperative process is predominantly concerned with trade and
economic issues, with members engaging with one another as economic entities.
MEMBERS DATE OF JOINING

Australia 6-7 Nov. 1989

Brunei Darussalam 6-7 Nov. 1989
Canada 6-7 Nov. 1989
Chile 11-12 Nov. 1994
People’s Republic of China 12-14 Nov. 1991
Hong Kong, China 12-14 Nov. 1991
Indonesia 6-7 Nov.1989
Japan 6-7 Nov. 1989
Republic of Korea 6-7 Nov. 1989
Malaysia 6-7 Nov. 1989
Mexico 17-19 Nov. 1993
New Zealand 6-7 Nov. 1989
Papua New Guinea 17-19 Nov. 1993
Peru 14-15 Nov. 1998
The Philippines 6-7 Nov. 1989
Russia 14-15 Nov. 1998
Singapore 6-7 Nov. 1989
Chinese Taipei 12-14 Nov. 1991
Thailand 6-7 Nov. 1989
The United States 6-7 Nov. 1989
Vietnam 14-15 Nov. 1998
WHAT DOES APEC DO?
APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders.
Members facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; more
favorable business climates behind the border; and aligning regulations and
standards across the region. For example, APEC’s initiative synchronize regulatory
systems is a key step to integrating the Asia-Pacific economy. A product can be more
easily exported with just one set of common standards all economies.
SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE ASIA-PACIFIC
APEC works to help all residents of the Asia-Pacific participants in the growing
economy. For example: APEC projects provide digital skills training for rural
communities and help indigenous women report their product abroad. Recognizing the
impact of climate change, APEC members also implement initiatives to increase
energy efficiency and promote sustainable management of forest and marine
resources.
 Forum adapts to allow members to deal with important new challenges to the region’s economic well-
being. This includes ensuring disaster resilience, planning for pandemics, and addressing terrorism.
APEC PROCESS
APEC: Cooperation and Consensus
APEC operates as a cooperative, multilateral economic and trade forum. Member
economies participate on the basis of open dialogue and respect for views of all
participants. In APEC, all economies have an equal say and decision-making is
reached by consensus. There are no binding commitments or treaty obligations.
Commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis and capacity building projects
help members implement APEC initiatives.
Criticism

APEC has been criticised for promoting free trade agreements that would impose
restrictions on national and local laws, which regulate and ensure labour rights,
environmental protection and safe and affordable access to medicine. According to
the organisation, it is "the premier forum for facilitating economic growth,
cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region" established to "further
enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region and to strengthen the Asia-
Pacific community". The effectiveness and fairness of its role has been questioned,
especially from the viewpoints of European countries that cannot take part in APEC
and Pacific Island nations that cannot participate but stand to be affected by its
decisions.
APEC business advisory council

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was created by the APEC Economic
Leaders in November 1995 with the aim of providing advice to the APEC Economic
Leaders on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector
priorities, and to provide the business perspective on specific areas of co-operation.
Each economy nominates up to three members from the private sector to ABAC. These
business leaders represent a wide range of industry sectors. ABAC provides an
annual report to APEC Economic Leaders containing recommendations to improve the
business and investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region, and outlining business
views about priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental
organisation that is on the official agenda of the APEC Economic Leader's Meeting.