APEC trade chiefs to meet on economic restructuring

MANILA, Philippines - Trade ministers of APEC member countries will meet next week to discuss economic restructuring amidst the global economic crunch.

In a statement, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila said there are plans to come up with a multi-year program on how to promote “inclusive growth”.

Favila noted that there are some sectors of society that are more hard hit than others.

“The economic outlook of the Philippines has remained positive despite the global financial crisis,” Favila said.

“The Government has its economic resiliency plan as its response to the crisis.  GDP growth remains positive and the Philippines is one of two economies in Southeast Asia projected to grow,” he added.

Likewise, Favila stressed that remittances from abroad are continuously flowing into sectors like business process outsourcing, mining, energy, tourism and processed foods are on the positive trend.

The Fifteenth APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) will be held July 21-22 in Singapore . 

The discussions will focus on issues surrounding the global economy – the financial and economic crisis, support to the multilateral trading system, regional economic integration and strengthening the APEC.   

As a response to the global financial and economic crisis, the ministers will look at measures for economic restructuring and programs on social resilience. They will discuss the actions of APEC economies to strengthen the implementation of the APEC Leaders’ instruction to refrain from raising new barriers to cross-border investment and trade.

They will review specific trade, fiscal and monetary measures of member economies, to ensure that the measures are not trade- or investment-restrictive.

Also, there will be a Ministers’ discussion on the support for the multilateral trading system and the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Ministers are expected reiterate their commitment to the conclusion of the DDA negotiations.

“The Philippines continuously supports APEC’s goals, especially in pushing forward the WTO process. The country undertook domestic reforms, which led to significant achievements in the area of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation,” Favila said.

“But we are also encouraging APEC, which constitutes a strong voice at the WTO, to consider the concerns of developing countries. Now more than ever, we must push for real results in the negotiations because a successful round will be most critical to developing countries especially in securing the necessary environment that will nurture economic growth and development,” he added.

Secretary Favila’s attendance at the APEC meeting comes immediately after the Philippines’ successful APEC Individual Action Plan Peer Review this month. The peer review is a voluntary review of how APEC economies are on track towards achieving the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.