APEC MEMBERS WARN OF PROTECTIONIST ELEMENTS

SINGAPORE, July 13 (Bernama) -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
members were warned today of new protectionist elements in fiscal policy
measures taken by economies to address the economic crisis that might
jeopardise the grouping’s free trade goals.

“There are new, emerging forms of protectionism embedded within fiscal
policy packages, like ‘Buy Local’ and ‘Lend Local’,” Singapore’s Trade and
Industry Ministry Second Permanent Secretary Ravi Menon said.

These protectionist elements are hard to detect and harder still to combat,
he said at the APEC Study Centres Consortium Conference here.

“Protectionism is a grave threat that APEC must address, to ensure that the
hard-won benefits of trade and investment liberalisation over the last 20 years
are not rolled back,” he added.

As the pre-eminent champion of free trade and open markets, APEC has a
strong role in helping to ensure that fiscal policy measures taken by economies
to address the crisis do not contain protectionist elements, he said.

“Resisting protectionism is more paramount now than ever,” Menon pointed
out.

He said last year, in Lima, APEC Leaders made a pledge to refrain from
raising trade-restrictive measures for 12 months but there had been some
slippage in holding to that commitment.

“It falls on APEC economies to review the implementation of their pledge,
reaffirm their commitment to refrain from protectionism, and monitor progress,”
Menon said.

He said a more enduring and impactful contribution that APEC could make to
support the multilateral trading system will be to facilitate progress in
concluding the Doha Round.

The relevant, major economies had renewed their efforts in recent weeks to
break the current impasse at the World Trade Organization and find a way forward
for negotiations to resume, he said.

“Facilitating a successful conclusion of the Doha Round is the best
insurance APEC can make for free trade,” Menon added.

-– BERNAMA