APEC member nations reveal extent of tariff reductions done on green goods

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ID-100296035Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have finally published details of how they are fully implementing tariff reductions on more than 50 environmentally friendly goods, providing new trade opportunities in green products, according to the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI).

The program to cut tariffs on environmental goods, which was set in motion in a declaration at the APEC Leaders’ Summit in 2011, was endorsed a year later in Russia. Member economies had vowed to reduce the tariff on 54 environmental goods to 5% or less by end-2015.

“Each APEC economy has put forward an implementation plan detailing the progress of their work to cut tariffs on the region’s list of 54 environmental goods,” said Marie Sherylyn Aquia, the new chair of the APEC CTI, which is the coordinating body for the initiative.

“The reduction of tariffs under the APEC environmental goods initiative is an important step forward for trade and green growth,” Aquia explained.

She added that the “transparent, easy-to-access information on tariff cuts within the sector made available by APEC economies will help businesses take advantage of new trade opportunities while promoting clean, efficient energy use and lower carbon emissions in the region.”

For the Philippines, the most-favored nation tariffs on products included in the APEC Environmental Goods Initiative are at 5% or below, except for six tariff lines (8404.20.00; 8417.80.00A; 8421.21.11 to 23) whose tariffs are to be reduced to 5% with the issuance of the implementing executive order.

APEC CTI said this APEC initiative, the first multilateral tariff-cutting arrangement in 20 years, will help to lower the cost of environmental goods such as solar panels, wind turbines, and air pollution control equipment.

Along with emerging efforts in APEC to support service providers that utilize clean technologies, these tariff reductions will better position the region to meet its target of doubling renewable energy by 2030 and reducing energy intensity by 45% by 2035, APEC CTI said.

It added that the tariff reductions will also promote trade worth around US$300 billion within the region and $500 billion worldwide, unlocking new sources of economic growth, while giving impetus to the Environmental Goods Agreement negotiations in the World Trade Organization, which are set to continue this year.

Half of the top 10 global exporters of environmental goods and 12 of the top 30 are APEC economies, according to the International Trade Centre. The total market for environmental goods and services is expected to double to $2 trillion within five years, fueled by increasing global energy consumption and rising demand for greater efficiency and environmental regulation.

The progress of implementation work and the next steps to further bolster the development of the environmental goods and services sector will be discussed when officials from the region meet in Lima, Peru from February to March.

Image courtesy of satit_srihin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net