Fearing the fight against terrorism could derail efforts at free trade, top officials from 21-nations wrapped up a meeting Thursday by calling on countries to speed up work on the next round of WTO negotiations.
Members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, gathered since Wednesday in this seaside resort, said countries were making "substantial progress" in cracking down on terrorism financing, and praised governments for making air and maritime travel more secure while increasing cooperation on border security.
In a joint statement, the members of APEC said nations still need to "increase economic growth as well as to ensure a stable and safe environment for trade, investment, travel and tourism."
"The collective and individual efforts of APEC economies have limited the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks and strengthened the resolve of ministers to push ahead with APEC's ambitious trade and investment liberalization and facilitation agenda," the statement said.
The ministers set several procedural deadlines aimed at helping nations reach consensus before the next round of WTO negotiations, scheduled to be held in September 2003 in Cancun, Mexico.
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the deadlines were aimed at encouraging countries to "get on with the job and finish the procedural matters so we can get on with the substantive issues" after the latest round of WTO negotiations in Doha, Qatar, last November.
The ministers welcomed both China and Taiwan's inclusion in the WTO and supported Russia and Vietnam's efforts to join the body that sets rules for and polices world trade.
They also discussed how to ensure that free trade benefits all countries, including developing ones, and studied ways to help small and medium-size businesses compete in the global economy.
When asked about concerns that China is flooding Mexico's market with cheap goods, Chinese Deputy Trade Minister Lu Fuyan countered that China imports many Mexican goods and its imports are growing.
Several reporters tried to push the Chinese minister to comment further on allegations that China is dumping cheap goods in the Mexican market. But Mexican Economy Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez, who will soon lead a Mexican trade mission to China, discouraged a reply, saying "we shouldn't think about the risks, but the opportunities" of trade.
The meeting builds on an APEC summit last October in which Pacific Rim leaders demanded international cooperation in fighting terrorism, and is one of several meetings leading up to an APEC summit scheduled for October in Mexico.
On Wednesday during a private retreat, ministers talked about ways to persuade countries to eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers -- especially in light of the recent focus on terrorism and the US' decision to raise agricultural subsidies by 70 percent.
Many countries argue the move is against WTO rules. But US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, who left the APEC meeting early Friday and did not participate in the final news conference, argued that tariffs in European and other countries must come down first.
"We will continue to push for ambitious agricultural liberalization and reform on a global level," he said in a statement issued after his departure.
The WTO's 144 member countries agreed last November to launch new trade negotiations that included a "reduction of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies" and cuts in domestic subsidies.
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