APEC ECONOMIC LEADERS' DECLARATION OF COMMON RESOLVE
Bogor, Indonesia
15 November, 1994
1. We, the economic leaders of APEC, came together at Bogor, Indonesia today to chart the future course of our economic cooperation which will enhance the prospects of an accelerated, balanced and equitable economic growth not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but throughout the world as well.
2. A year ago on Blake
Island in Seattle, USA, we recognized that our diverse economies are becoming
more interdependent and are moving toward a community of Asia-Pacific
economies. We have issued a vision statement in which we pledged:
- to find cooperative solutions to the
challenges of our rapidly changing regional and global economy:
- to support an expanding world economy
and an open multilateral trading system;
- to continue to reduce barriers to trade
and investment to enable goods, services and capital to flow freely among
our economies;
- to ensure that our people share the
benefits of economic growth, improve education and training, link our
economies through advances in telecommunications and transportation, and
use our resources sustainably.
3. We set our vision for
the community of Asia-Pacific economies based on a recognition of the growing
interdependence of our economically diverse region, which comprises developed,
newly industrializing and developing economies. The Asia-Pacific industrialized
economies will provide opportunities for developing economies to increase
further their economic growth and their level of development. At the same time
developing economies will strive to maintain high growth rates with the aim of
attaining the level of prosperity now enjoyed by the newly industrializing
economies. The approach will be coherent and comprehensive, embracing the three
pillars of sustainable growth, equitable development and national stability.
The narrowing gap in the stages of development among the Asia-Pacific economies
will benefit all members and promote the attainment of Asia-Pacific economic
progress as a whole.
4. As we approach the
twenty-first century, APEC needs to reinforce economic cooperation in the
Asia-Pacific region on the basis on equal partnership, shared responsibility,
mutual respect, common interest, and common benefit, with the objective of APEC
leading the way in:
- strengthening the open multilateral
trading system;
- enhancing trade and investment
liberalization in the Asia-Pacific; and
- intensifying Asia-Pacific development
cooperation.
5. As the foundation of our
market-driven economic growth has been the open multilateral trading system, it
is fitting that APEC builds on the momentum generated by the outcome of the
Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and takes the lead in
strengthening the open multilateral trading system.
We are pleased to note the
significant contribution APEC made in bringing about a successful conclusion of
the Uruguay Round. We agree to carry out our Uruguay Round commitments fully
and without delay and call on all participants in the Uruguay Round to do the
same.
To strengthen the open
multilateral trading system we decide to accelerate the implementation of our
Uruguay Round commitments and to undertake work aimed at deepening and
broadening the outcome of the Uruguay Round. We also commit ourselves to our
continuing process of unilateral trade and investment liberalization. As
evidence of our commitment to the open multilateral trading system we further
agree to a standstill under which we will endeavor to refrain from using measures
which would have the effect of increasing levels of protection.
We call for the successful
launching of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Full and active participation
in and support of the WTO by all APEC economies is key to our ability to lead the
way in strengthening the multilateral trading system. We call on all non-APEC
members of the WTO to work together with APEC economies toward further
multilateral liberalization.
6. With respect to our
objective of enhancing trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific, we agree to
adopt the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment in the
Asia-Pacific. This goal will be pursued promptly by further reducing barriers
to trade and investment and by promoting the free flow of goods, services and
capital among our economies. We will achieve this goal in a GATT-consistent
manner and believe our actions will be a powerful impetus for further
liberalization at the multilateral level to which we remain fully committed.
We further agree to
announce our commitment to complete the achievement of our goal of free and
open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific no later than the year 2020. The
pace of implementation will take into account differing levels of economic
development among APEC economies, with the industrialized economies achieving
the goal of free and open trade and investment no later than the year 2010 and
developing economies no later than the year 2020.
We wish to emphasize our
strong opposition to the creation of an inward-looking trading bloc that would
divert from the pursuit of global free trade. We are determined to pursue free
and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific in a manner that will
encourage and strengthen trade and investment liberalization in the world as a
whole. Thus, the outcome of trade and investment liberalization in the
Asia-Pacific will not only be the actual reduction of barriers among APEC
economies but also between APEC economies and non-APEC economies. In this
respect we will give particular attention to our trade with non-APEC developing
countries to ensure that they will also benefit from our trade and investment
liberalization, in conformity with GATT/WTO provisions.
7. To complement and
support this substantial process of liberalization, we decide to expand and
accelerate APEC'S trade and investment facilitation programs. This will promote
further the flow of goods, services, and capital among APEC economies by
eliminating administrative and other impediments to trade and investment.
We emphasize the importance
of trade facilitation because trade liberalization efforts alone are
insufficient to generate trade expansion. Efforts at facilitating trade are
important if the benefits of trade are to be truly enjoyed by both business and
consumers. Trade facilitation has also a pertinent role in furthering our goal
of achieving the fullest liberalization within the global context.
In particular we ask our
ministers and officials to submit proposals on APEC arrangements on customs,
standards, investment principles and administrative barriers to market access.
To facilitate regional
investment flows and to strengthen APEC's dialogue on economic policy issues,
we agree to continue the valuable consultations on economic growth strategies,
regional capital flows and other macro-economic issues.
8. Our objective to
intensify development cooperation among the community of Asia-Pacific economies
will enable us to develop more effectively the human and natural resources of
the Asia-Pacific region so as to attain sustainable growth and equitable
development of APEC economies, while reducing economic disparities among them,
and improving the economic and social well-being of our people. Such efforts
will also facilitate the growth of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Cooperative programs in
this area cover expanded human resource development (such as education and
training and especially improving management and technical skills), the
development of APEC study centers, cooperation in science and technology (including
technology transfer), measures aimed at promoting small and medium scale
enterprises and steps to improve economic infrastructure, such as energy,
transportation, information, telecommunications and tourism, with the aim of
contributing to sustainable development.
Economic growth and
development of the Asia-Pacific region has mainly been market-driven, based on
the growing interlinkages between our business sectors in the region to support
Asia-Pacific economic cooperation. Recognizing the role of the business sector
in economic development, we agree to integrate the business sector in our
programs and to create an ongoing mechanism for that purpose.
9. In order to facilitate
and accelerate our cooperation, we agree that APEC economies that are ready to
initiate and implement a cooperative arrangement may proceed to do so while
those that are not yet ready to participate may join at a later date.
Trade and other economic
disputes among APEC economies have negative implications for the implementation
of agreed cooperative arrangements as well as for the spirit of cooperating. To
assist in resolving such disputes and in avoiding its recurrent, we agree to
examine the possibility of a voluntary consultative dispute mediation service,
to supplement the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which should continue to be
the primary channel for resolving disputes.
10. Our goal is an
ambitious one. But we are determined to demonstrate APEC's leadership in
fostering further global trade and investment liberalization. Our goal entails
a multiple year effort. We will start our concerted liberalization process form
the very date of this statement.
We direct our ministers and
officials to immediately begin preparing detailed proposals for implementing
our present decisions. The proposals are to be submitted soon to the APEC
economic leaders for their consideration and subsequent decisions. Such
proposals should also address all impediments to achieving our goal. We ask
ministers and officials to give serious consideration in their deliberations to
the important recommendations contained in the reports of the Eminent Persons
Group and the Pacific Business Forum.
11. We express our
appreciation for the important and thoughtful recommendations contained in the
reports of the Eminent Persons Groups and the Pacific Business Forum. The
reports will be used as valuable points of reference in formulating policies in
the cooperative framework of the community of Asia-Pacific economies. We agree
to ask the two groups to continue with their activities to provide the APEC
economic leaders with assessments of the progress of APEC and further
recommendations for stepping up our cooperation.
We also ask the Eminent
Persons Group and the Pacific Business Forum to review the interrelationships
between APEC and the existing sub-regional arrangements (AFTA, ANZERTA and
NAFTA) and to examine possible options to prevent obstacles to each other and
to promote consistency in their relations.