Economics: Pacific Rim: Asia-Pacific trade talks in Vietnam move to freer trade, blast North Korea's nukes
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In a wide-ranging set of actions in Hanoi, Vietnam, the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation body of 21 countires scored North Korea's bombast and urged the settlement of the World Trade Organization's "Doha Round" toward a worldwide agricultural treaty. Joseph Coleman reports online at ABC News, "APEC Calls for North Korea to Quit Nukes, Vows to Salvage World Trade Talks" (Nov19,2k6).
Eager to set the stage for further economic growth, Pacific Rim leaders on Sunday demanded a fresh start for moribund global free-trade talks and condemned terrorism and other threats to security.Asia-Pacific > Trade Summit
The 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum including regional powerhouses Japan, China and the United States also criticized North Korea for its recent atomic test, urging the reclusive regime to make "concrete and effective" steps toward nuclear disarmament.
The conference of nations comprising more than half the world's economy was also a bazaar for business deals: host Vietnam parlayed its robust growth into multimillion-dollar contracts, while the U.S. and Russia signed a pact allowing Moscow's future entry into the World Trade Organization.World Economy > Trade
A top economic priority for the forum, attended by world leaders including President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao, was the resurrection of the stalled Doha round of world trade talks, which collapsed in July over a U.S.-European feud on agricultural subsidies.
The leaders issued a joint declaration warning of "grave" consequences if the talks, aimed at slashing trade barriers in order to boost global growth and alleviate poverty, fail. Bush's authority to submit a deal to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote will expire July 1.Among Canada's priorities for the APEC 2006 forum has been
It is difficult in the reportage of the now-concluded event any direct program to relieve extreme poverty in the countries signatory to the consultation, specifically not exclusing China which still has slave-labour camps and forced labour. Sadly also, with all that was accomplished for national economies and the elites that profit from them, yet there was no word of an effort by the regional body to calm serious internal strife in the three small island-countries of the Pacific--Fiji, Tonga, and Solomon Islands.Narrowing the gap between the rich and poor
Canada is committed to reducing the growing divide between rich and poor by helping developing countries get better access to the multilateral trading system. Often developing countries cannot benefit from more liberalized trade or advances in information and communications technologies because they do not have the infrastructure or technical expertise to take advantage of such developments. At the leaders' meeting, Canada wanted to see further commitment to APEC's economic and technical co-operation agenda, with a particular focus on this need for access to trade, and on helping more people gain access to the Internet, improving health conditions, promoting gender equality, and supporting small business.
In 2002, through the Canadian International Development Agency, Canada developed and is administering a multi-million dollar, multi-year program to support APEC initiatives to help developing countries build the capacity to participate fully in the world trading system. Canada has also developed a Web site listing the programs that APEC economies offer as part of these initiatives. As well, Canada and Japan are co-chairing an APEC group working to better co-ordinate this work.
-- Politicarp
Further Research:
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Canada's 2k6 APEC Priorities
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