APEC must converge TIPAT and RCEP: ABAC

The business sector of the region covered by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum urged the governments of the 21 member economies of that bloc to converge on the region’s mega free trade agreements. To achieve the Free Trade Area of ​​the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), APEC economies should build on and improve the quality of ongoing trade agreements and other regional economic integration commitments in the region, pursuing converging around the approaches that work best in these agreements and addressing any implementation problems or other deficiencies that may have arisen through the periodic evaluation.

This position established ABAC, a business body created by APEC leaders in 1995 to be the main voice for business in APEC. Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective leaders. Those from Mexico are representatives of ANIQ, Comce and Coca-Cola FEMSA.

ABAC recommended that APEC encourage remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement (TIPAT) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Association (RCEP) to ratify and implement the agreements, while encouraging new entrants who can meet the high standards of these agreements.

The ABAC Vision considers a series of priorities for the achievement of the FTAAP. First, ranked in its Report to APEC Leaders 2022, ABAC urges the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to seek convergence of high-quality approaches to trade and investment.

“This should build on the completion of a detailed review of existing free trade agreements in the region, which has been underway for some time. This review should include next-generation trade and investment issues, as well as existing mechanisms for dispute resolution, along with regular assessments of any gaps or enforcement issues that may have arisen,” ABAC says.

Some countries that make up APEC are Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Korea and Mexico.

roberto.morales@eleconomista.mx