Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Profile

APEC stands for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Today, there are 21 members, including all of the major economies of the region with some of the most dynamic and rapidly growing economies in the world. Its members account for approximately 40% of the world's population, approximately 56% of world GDP and about 48% of world trade. It also proudly represents the most economically dynamic region in the world having generated nearly 70% of global economic growth in its first 10 years. APEC’s role has grown in recent years in both scope and depth and now encompasses trade liberalization, business facilitation and economic and technical cooperation. APEC sees itself – not as a grouping of countries, but of “economies”, which emphasizes “economic” interests over “political” interests. It continues to function well as a non-binding forum that relies on peer pressure to advance its agenda.

While APEC was formed in 1989 in Australia, it was not until 1993 that the annual meeting of APEC Leaders became a regular feature. After that inaugural meeting in Seattle in 1993, the Leaders took another historic step at their meeting in Bogor, Indonesia. The resulting “Bogor Goals” called for creating the world’s largest area of free trade and investment with specific milestones for implementation by 2010 in developed economies and 2020 for developing economies. The current APEC member economies are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. The Chair rotates annually among the members. Peru will host in 2008, followed by Singapore in 2009 and Japan in 2010. Last year, the President announced that the U.S. will host APEC in 2011. The U.S. Senior Official to APEC is currently Ambassador Patricia Haslach of the US Department of State who leads the US delegation to four Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOMs) each year. The top US priorities in APEC are:

• Create opportunities for sustainable growth in the U.S. and the region by promoting trade and investment, cultivating small and medium-sized businesses, and strengthening intellectual property rights protection and enforcement.
• Prevent threats to sustainable growth by strengthening protections against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as stemming other threats such as pandemic disease.
• Build societies for sustainable growth by increasing corporate transparency, fighting corruption and promoting education and workforce development.
• Strengthen APEC as an institution by streamlining its structure, bolstering its Secretariat, and providing resources and expertise to help economies build prosperous, secure, and well-governed societies.

The National Center for APEC (NCAPEC)

APEC is unique in having institutionally mandated input from the private sector. The mission of the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) is to stimulate and facilitate U.S. private sector engagement in APEC, and to communicate private sector APEC priorities at home and abroad. NCAPEC is the official link between U.S. business and the APEC policy process, providing direct input into APEC’s deliberations on both sides of the Pacific to promote economic growth and prosperity.

NCAPEC is supported by memberships of U.S. corporations. Its professional staff is typically augmented by an experienced officer seconded from the Commerce Department's Foreign Commercial Service. The SCO to APEC communicates U.S. Government commercial priorities and advises on commercial diplomacy issues within the U.S. APEC business deliberations. Representatives of NCAPEC, including corporate members, often serve on official U.S. delegations to APEC meetings. NCAPEC sponsors several meetings each year between the private sector and government officials, both U.S. and foreign. NCAPEC coordinates U.S. corporate participation in APEC activities designed to achieve specific, targeted results of immediate interest and benefit to U.S. business.

The National Center also serves as secretariat for the three presidential-appointee U.S. members of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).  ABAC is an official and integral element of the APEC (government) process, participating in APEC deliberations and meeting annually with APEC Leaders -- primarily heads of state of the APEC economies -- during the Leaders' Summit.  The current U.S. representatives to the ABAC are Spencer H. Kim, Chairman, CBOL Corporation; Michael Phillips, Chairman, Russell Investments; and D. Nick Reilly, President, GM Asia-Pacific.

 participating in APEC deliberations and meeting annually with APEC Leaders -- primarily heads of state of the APEC economies -- during the Leaders' Summit.

The support provided by the National Center has been critical to the success of several U.S. industry initiatives that have been endorsed and promoted by the full ABAC. These include:

1. The APEC Data Privacy Principles;
2. Model Principles to control On-line Piracy;
3. APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum Strategic Plan; 
4. Public-private dialogues on the automotive and chemical industries;
5. Programs on Best Practices in IPR Public Awareness Campaigns.

The National Center has also taken the lead on creating APEC demonstration projects, such as the highly successful Shanghai Model Port Project, completed in 2001, a Health Care Accreditation project; an e-learning project completed in 2002; the 2003 Bangkok Laem Chabang Efficient and Secure Trade Project and the 2006 Customs Modernization Project in Vietnam. The Center is currently working to facilitate a program for Implementation of Immediate Release Guidelines for express courier services in Peru, in conjunction with that country’s hosting of APEC 2008.

Please visit NCAPEC or the APEC Secretariat for further information. The National Center is also available to respond to specific inquiries and may be reached at the numbers listed below.

NCAPEC Contact Information
National Center for APEC
2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 420
Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-441-9022
Fax: 206-441-1006
info@N0SPAM.ncapec.org

Contacts:

• Monica Hardy Whaley, Executive Director
• Robert Modarelli, Policy Director
• Alex Parle, Manager of Technology and International Trade Policy
• Jonathan Leuchs, Manager of Finance and Energy Policy
• Linda Eng, Programs and Operations Manager

Documents

APEC Public/Private Dialogue