While acknowledging advances made to improve supply chain connectivity, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers believe more steps can be taken to tighten linkages and further hasten regional trade.
In a statement after the 2016 Meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade held in Peru from May 17 to 18, the trade officials welcomed progress of the Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan (SCFAP).
The SCFAP, along with its two predecessors, the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plans (TFAP I and TFAP II), is an initiative supporting trade facilitation and connectivity within the region by identifying supply chain weaknesses or chokepoints and recommending actions to solve them.
“APEC has made considerable progress through the initiative but further gains can still be made. Therefore, we instruct officials to develop a second stage of SCFAP to continue enhancing supply chain connectivity and efficiency in the APEC region,” the statement said.
The trade ministers urged officials to build on contributions of the APEC Alliance on Supply Chain Connectivity, an advisory group formed in 2014, to draft a capacity-building plan for supply chain connectivity based on regular inputs from the public and private sectors.
They also reaffirmed the importance of carrying forward the work done on the Asia-Pacific Model E-Port Network (APMEN), which aims to promote supply chain connectivity through E-port development and collaboration efforts.
“In this respect, we endorse the Work Plan of APMEN 2016, and look forward to capacity building activities and Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) to be undertaken later this year,” the statement noted.
The ministers commended the progress made on the APEC Cooperation Network on Green Supply Chain (GSCNET), including the launch of a bilingual website operated by GSCNET Tianjin Pilot Center. They welcomed the new members of the GSCNET and encouraged the nomination of more institutions and experts to join the cooperation network. A forthcoming workshop on capacity building will be held in August.
Also praising the work developed to identify best practices on critical issues in the Asia-Pacific region in implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), APEC trade ministers exhorted officials to collaborate with the forthcoming survey and workshop.
“Through APEC´s leadership in this field, we support the complete and effective implementation of the TFA as quickly as possible,” they said.
The Study of APEC Best Practices in Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programs was likewise mentioned, as the ministers cited its importance in the pursuit of secure trade and facilitation based on World Customs Organization standards.
On this matter, trade ministers encouraged building on this work and further implementing the APEC Customs 3M Strategic Framework—3M means Mutual Recognition of Control, Mutual Assistance of Enforcement and Mutual Sharing of Information—to develop minimum standards for AEOs to include SMEs and the promotion of AEO mutual recognition across the region.
Member economies were asked to begin discussions next year on establishing voluntarily pilot projects on the Initiative on Single Window Systems’ International Interoperability. The initiative strives to foster the flow of goods, enhance supply chain security, reduce costs, and provide quality and timely information on trade across borders.
Lastly, the trade ministers welcomed the breakthroughs made on a suite of Global Data Standards (GDS) pilot projects demonstrating how GDS can enhance supply chain performance.
“We look forward to the conclusion of pilot projects and the related PSU (APEC Policy Support Unit) study. We encourage officials to explore next steps for the wider use of GDS in the APEC region, based on the outcome of the PSU Study,” the statement said.
The recommendations were part of a joint action plan to be taken by APEC to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment so as to regain economic momentum and achieve prosperity for the region’s people. Four priority areas have been highlighted in the plan—enhancing regional economic integration; promoting micro, small and medium enterprise internationalization; developing human capital; and strengthening economic and technical cooperation.
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