Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. General characteristics of ATE. How actively does Russia participate in APEC?
Year of education - 1989.
Number of members - 21.
Location of governing bodies - Singapore.
Work language - English.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional international organization whose main goal is economic integration. The unifying principle for cooperation is the Pacific Ocean, whose countries by the end of the twentieth century. seized leadership in the world economy. The centuries of dominance by the Atlantic countries have come to an end. APEC is the largest international association, not counting the UN and the organizations created under its auspices. APEC accounts for 60% of world GDP and about half of world trade, the total population reaches almost 3 billion people, the area is 62.5 million km 2.
APEC was founded in 1989 in the Australian capital of Canberra on the initiative of the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand. The main goals of the organization are to ensure an open trade regime among the countries of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) and strengthen regional cooperation. Initially, the highest body of APEC were annual meetings at the level of foreign ministers, but since 1993, summits of heads of state and government began to be held. APEC governing bodies: summits, meetings of ministers of foreign affairs and economics, permanent APEC Secretariat, Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum.
APEC includes 19 Asia-Pacific countries and two territories - Hong Kong, which is a special region of the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan, therefore its members are officially called not member countries, but APEC economies. Since 1998, Russia has been a member of APEC. Our country, as one of the Pacific states, is interested in participating in integration projects in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in the energy and transport fields. They promise the greatest dividends to the Russian Far East. Russia is the only APEC country bordering European countries, so it can become a bridge uniting the European and Pacific systems of economic cooperation. It was decided that the APEC summit of heads of state and government in 2012 will be held in Russia, on Russky Island near Vladivostok. Preparations for this significant event have already begun in Primorye; it is planned to implement several ambitious construction projects, including the construction of the longest bridge crossing in the Far East of the Russian Federation (which will connect Russky Island with the mainland).
| A country | Square, thousand km 2 |
Population, 2008, assessment, thousand people |
GDP(according to PPP), 2007, billion dollars |
| Australia | 7 692,0 | 32 738 | 766,8 |
| Brunei | 5,8 | 381 | 9,6 |
| Vietnam | 331,7 | 86 117 | 222,5 |
| Hong Kong (special region of the People's Republic of China) | 1,0 | 7 019 | 293,4 |
| Indonesia | 1 904,5 | 237 512 | 845,6 |
| Canada | 9 970,6 | 33 213 | 1 274,0 |
| China | 9 598,0* | 1 330 045 | 7 043,0 |
| Malaysia | 329,8 | 25 274 | 357,9 |
| Mexico | 1 958,2 | 109 955 | 1 353,0 |
| New Zealand | 270,5 | 4 173 | 112,6 |
| Papua New Guinea | 462,8 | 5 932 | 16,6 |
| Peru | 1 285,2 | 29 181 | 217,5 |
| South Korea | 99,4 | 49 233 | 1 206,0 |
| Russia | 17 075,4 | 140 702 | 2 076,0 |
| Singapore | 0,6 | 4 608 | 222,7 |
| USA | 9 518,9 | 303 825 | 13 860,0 |
| Thailand | 513,1 | 65 493 | 519,9 |
| O. Taiwan | 32,3 | 22 921 | 690,1 |
| Philippines | 300,1 | 92 681 | 298,9 |
| Chile | 756,6 | 16 454 | 234,4 |
| Japan | 372,8 | 127 288 | 4 417,0 |
| APEC | 62 446,0 | 2 724 746 | 36 037,5 |
* Including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao (Macao is not included in APEC as a separate economy).
Prospects : In 1994, the creation of a free and open trade system and a liberal investment regime in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 was declared as a strategic goal. India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Laos, Colombia, and Ecuador have expressed interest in joining APEC. The US state of Guam is seeking full member status (it hopes to join on the same terms as Hong Kong).
The intergovernmental forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" (APEC) was established in November 1989.
Currently, its participants are 21 countries and territories of the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, USA, Thailand , Taiwan, Philippines, Chile, Japan.
Today, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum is one of the most important international platforms for Russia. This is, first of all, confirmed by the figures: the share of APEC economies in the world market accounts for 54% of GDP, 46% of exports, more than 45% of investments, 43.7% of jobs and 33.5% of the total number of international arrivals (based on 414 million tourist trips were registered in 2016).
Tourism plays a significant role in APEC, which was repeatedly mentioned in the final documents of the forum. In the Declaration of the 25th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (November 2017, Vietnam), participants agreed to promote sustainable tourism and explore its potential for developing remote areas as an important component of APEC's Economic Growth Strategy and a tool for strengthening people's connectedness. The document also sets a strategic figure of 800 million travelers in the APEC region by 2025 (almost twice the current figure). This intention creates good opportunities for the implementation of one of Russia's primary goals in the tourism industry - increasing the export of Russian tourism services to the world market. Considering that the forum brings together twenty-one economies, in particular, large tourism markets (China, Japan, Korea, USA, etc.), the task takes on greater significance. Interaction is carried out within the framework of the Working Group on Tourism, which was established in 1997 and is designed to create favorable conditions for the development of tourism in the region. The activity of the Federal Tourism Agency on this platform increased noticeably during the year of Russia's chairmanship in APEC in 2012. The department has developed the Asia-Pacific Tourist Safety Initiative, an official APEC document that provides for the development of unified specific measures that meet the interests of APEC economies in ensuring travel safety.
In development of the Initiative, Rostourism in 2013 prepared the project “Program ‘Smart Traveler’ Ensuring the safety of tourists and promoting international travel in the APEC region.” 'Smart Traveler' programs, based on the latest advances in information technology, allow travelers to stay connected to their home country and receive support in case of emergency, including natural disasters and civil unrest. In addition, every tourist can find on a specially created portal important information on a foreign tour (entry, departure, laws, healthcare, etc.), register their contact information and foreign travel program and/or subscribe to recommendations for those traveling abroad. To date, the program has been successfully implemented by a number of countries. In Russia, the program was launched by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the form of the “Foreign Assistant” mobile application.
In 2017, Rostourism continued its project activities in a relevant area for the economies of the region.
In June 2017, the Russian project “Analysis of the prospects for sustainable development of tourism in remote areas of APEC economies” was presented. The topic was borrowed from the comprehensive Initiative of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development “Bridging the economic development gap and integrating remote areas for sustainable growth of the APEC region,” which was presented at the Senior Officials Meeting in Vietnam in February 2017.
The development of remote territories is undoubtedly a subject of deep interest to APEC economies, which have a large number of such territories and have a number of social and economic problems that hinder the growth of their tourist attractiveness and, as a result, attracting tourist flows.
The Russian idea received support from a number of APEC economies; the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia acted as co-sponsors of the tourism project.
Following the results of the second project session, the document was included in the list of 30 projects submitted for consideration to the APEC Budget Committee (a total of 123 project applications were submitted at the session), and in December 2017 the project received final confirmation of funding.
The project plans to assemble an international team of experts from APEC economies and international organizations. The research itself will consist of the following stages:
- 1. Review of remote areas of APEC economies: identifying distinctive features and existing problems;
- 2. Development of recommendations for the development of the tourism potential of these territories;
- 3. Organizing the exchange of experience between APEC economies through a seminar.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation- — Telecommunications topics, basic concepts EN Asia Pacific economic cooperationAPEC… Technical Translator's Guide
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation- ... Wikipedia
ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION- (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation) An intergovernmental organization of 21 states in the region, including the USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, ASEAN countries, etc., created in 1989 on the initiative of... ... Foreign economic explanatory dictionary
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Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)- a regional grouping created in 1989. The association includes states of the Pacific Ocean, which differ greatly in their level of economic development. In 1995, a program was adopted providing for the creation of a free trade zone and... ... Geoeconomic dictionary-reference book
Forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Forum Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation- In connection with the upcoming APEC Summit of Heads of State and Government, November 18-19. The intergovernmental forum "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" (APEC) was created in November 1989 at the first ministerial conference... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
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Books
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, the book continues a series of publications devoted to the development of the macroregion, under the general title “Strategy for the development of the Far East and the Baikal region”. The second book in the series attempts to answer... Category: Enterprise Economics Series: GSL Library Publisher:, Manufacturer: Far Eastern University Publishing House, Buy for 2750 UAH (Ukraine only)
- Asia-Pacific economic cooperation: yesterday, today, tomorrow, Kurilov V.I. , The monograph continues a series of publications devoted to the development of the macroregion, under the general title 171; Strategy for the development of the Far East and the Baikal region 187;. It attempts to answer... Category: Foreign policy. International relationships Series: Publisher:
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum of 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) for cooperation in the field of regional trade and investment facilitation and liberalization. APEC was created in 1989. APEC's goal is to enhance economic growth and prosperity in the region and strengthen the Asia-Pacific community.
The participating economies are home to approximately 40% of the world's population, account for approximately 54% of GDP and 44% of global trade.
APEC works to improve living standards and education through sustainable economic growth and promotes a sense of community and an appreciation of common interests among countries in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC comprises the newly industrialized countries (NIEs) and aims to create opportunities for ASEAN economies to explore new destinations for natural resource exports such as natural gas, as well as regional economic integration (industrial integration) through foreign direct investment.
APEC's annual meeting is attended by economic leaders, usually the heads of government of the organization's member economies, and only Taiwan is represented by a ministerial-level official. The location of the summit changes annually among the participating economies, and proud traditions, then for most (but not all) summits, include the leaders of the participating economies dressing up in the national costumes of the host country.
APEC currently includes 21 countries, including most of the countries on the Pacific coastline. However, the criterion for membership is that the member is a separate economy and not a state. As a result, APEC uses the term member economies rather than member countries to refer to its members. One result of this criterion is that the forum includes Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, participating under the name "Chinese Taipei"), along with the People's Republic of China, as well as Hong Kong, which entered APEC as a British colony but is now a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. APEC also includes three official observers: ASEAN, the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
APEC member countries
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, USA, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong (China), People's Republic of China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia, Vietnam.
Countries that have expressed interest in participating in APEC
India requested participation in APEC and received initial support from the US, Japan and Australia. However, officials have decided not to allow India to join for now for various reasons. It was decided not to allow any more participants into APEC until 2010. Moreover, India does not border the Pacific Ocean, unlike all current members. However, India was invited as an observer for the first time in November 2011.
In addition to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Macau, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador wish to join APEC. Colombia applied to participate in APEC back in 1995, but its proposal was rejected as the organization stopped accepting new members from 1993 to 1996, and the moratorium was extended until 2007 due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Guam also wants to be a separate participant, citing Hong Kong as an example, but the request is opposed by the US, which currently represents Guam.
APEC and trade liberalization
When APEC was created in 1989, the region's average trade barrier was 16.9 percent, but it was cut to 5.5 percent in 2004, according to the organization itself.
History of APEC
The association was formed in 1989 in Canberra on the initiative of the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand.
APEC was formed as a free consultative forum without any rigid organizational structure or large bureaucracy. The APEC Secretariat, located in Singapore, includes only 23 diplomats representing APEC member countries, as well as 20 local employees.
Initially, APEC's highest body was the annual ministerial meeting. Since 1993, the main form of APEC organizational activity has been the annual summits (informal meetings) of APEC economic leaders, during which declarations are adopted summarizing the overall results of the Forum’s activities for the year and determining the prospects for future activities. Sessions of the ministers of foreign affairs and economics are held with great frequency.
Main working bodies of APEC
Business Advisory Council, three expert committees (committee on trade and investment, economic committee, administrative and budgetary committee) and 11 working groups in various sectors of the economy.
In 1998, simultaneously with the admission of three new members to APEC - Russia, Vietnam and Peru - a 10-year moratorium was introduced on further expansion of the Forum's membership. India and Mongolia have applied to join APEC.
APEC goals and objectives
In 1994, the creation of a free and open trade system and a liberal investment regime in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 was announced as a strategic goal. The most developed economies must liberalize by 2010. Each economy independently determines its status and timing of the introduction of new regimes based on individual action plans.
APEC Bogor Goals
The Bogor Goals of APEC were proclaimed in the Declaration of the Heads of State and Government of the participating economies following their meeting in Bogor (Indonesia) in 1994 - one of the main program documents of the Forum. The goals set a long-term benchmark for APEC activities - the formation of a system of free and open trade and investment in the region: for developed economies by 2010, for developing economies - by 2020. The principle of voluntariness is especially stipulated - each country individually determines the pace of its movement towards these goals, as well as commitment to the ideas of “open regionalism”, i.e. eliminating barriers to trade and investment in relation not only to APEC partners, but equally to all other countries.
In 2005, based on individual action plans of the participating economies and with the involvement of representatives of the business and scientific communities of the region, the so-called mid-term review of progress towards the Bogor Goals. Based on its results, a draft report by APEC senior officials was prepared with recommendations to ministers and heads of state/government.
The main conclusion of the review is the recognition, on the one hand, of the significant contribution of APEC to the economic growth and well-being of the region through the liberalization of trade and investment terms and, on the other hand, the need to continue concerted efforts in this direction, taking into account the new challenges of both global and regional economic development .
To achieve the Bogor Goals, APEC is working in three main areas:
1. Liberalization of trade and investment.
2. Business assistance.
3. Economic and technical cooperation.
Russia in APEC
Russia is interested in participating in integration projects in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), in which Siberia and the Far East play a special role, primarily in the energy and transport fields. They can become a kind of “land bridge” between the countries of the so-called Pacific Rim and Europe.
Russia applied to join APEC in March 1995. Later that year, a decision was made to join Russia in APEC working groups. The procedure for Russia's entry into the organization was completed in November 1998.
From September 2 to September 8, 2012, the APEC summit was held in Russia, in Vladivostok on Russky Island.
APEC and business simplification
APEC has long been at the forefront of reforms in the area of business simplification. From 2002 to 2006, business transaction costs in the region fell by 6%, thanks to the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAPI). Between 2007 and 2010, APEC hoped to achieve an additional 5% reduction in business transaction costs. To this end, a new trade facilitation action plan was approved. As part of its trade costs and project facilitation, increasing transparency in the region's trading system is critical if APEC is to achieve its Bogor goals, according to a World Bank study published in 2008. The APEC Business Travel Card, a travel document for visa-free business travel in the region, is one of the specific measures to facilitate business. In May 2010, Russia joined the scheme, thereby completing the circle.
Free Trade Area of Asia (FTA)
APEC economies first officially began discussing the concept of creating a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region at the 2006 summit in Hanoi. However, the preconditions for the creation of such a zone have existed since at least 1966, when the Japanese economist Kiyoshi Kojima first proposed an agreement on a free trade area of the Pacific. While the idea was not welcomed with open arms, it led to the formation of the Pacific Trade and Development Conference and then the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council in 1980, and then APEC in 1989.
In more recent times, a proponent of an Asia-Pacific free trade agreement was economist S. Fred Bergsten. His ideas convinced the APEC Business Advisory Council to support the concept.
The FTA proposal arose in response to the lack of progress in the Doha round of negotiations on the World Trade Organization, and as a way to overcome the "spaghetti bowl" effect resulting from obstacles and contradictory elements of countless free trade agreements between individual countries.
There are currently around 60 free trade agreements in existence, with another 117 under negotiation in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The FTAAP is more ambitious in scope than the Doha round, which limits itself to reducing trade barriers. The FTAAP will create a free trade area that will significantly expand trade and economic growth in the region. Economic expansion and trade growth could exceed expectations of other regional free trade areas such as ASEAN plus three (ASEAN + China, Japan and South Korea).
Some critics note that changing trade rules in APEC will create imbalances, market conflicts and complications in relations with countries in other regions. The development of the FTAAP is expected to take many years and will involve major studies, assessments and negotiations between participating economies. The process may also be affected by a lack of political will, mass unrest, and lobbying against free trade in domestic politics.
APEC Training Center Consortium
In 1993, APEC leaders decided to create a network of APEC Research Centers between universities and research institutions in member economies. Notable centers are: Australian APEC Training Centre, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia; Berkeley Study Center, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Taiwan APEC Research Center, Taiwan Economic Research Institute, Taiwan; APEC Research Center (HKU), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Kobe APEC Research Center, Kobe University, Japan; Nankai APEC Research Center, Nanjing University, China; APEC Philippine Training Center, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippines; APEC Canada Training Centre, Canada Asia Pacific Foundation, Vancouver, Canada; Indonesian APEC Training Centre, APEC Training Centre, University of Indonesia, Indonesia.
APEC Business Advisory Council
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was formed at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November 1995 to provide advice on ways to achieve the Bogor Goals and other specific business sector priorities, and to provide a business perspective on specific areas of cooperation.
Each country nominates up to three private sector members to the ABAC. These business leaders represent a wide range of industries. ABAC provides an annual report to APEC economic leaders, containing recommendations for improving the business and investment climate in the Asia-Pacific region and business views on priority regional issues. ABAC is also the only non-governmental organization that attends the official meetings of APEC economic leaders.
APEC summit
APEC Summit - annual meeting of APEC leaders:
APEC Summit 2007 (Australia)
APEC Summit 2008 (Peru)
APEC Summit 2009 (Singapore)
APEC Summit 2011 (Honolulu, USA)
APEC Summit 2012 (Vladivostok, Russia)
APEC Summit 2013 (Bali, Indonesia)
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum) is an international economic organization created to develop integration ties between the countries of the Pacific Ocean. Currently, it unites the economies of 21 countries of very different levels of development (Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong (special administrative region of the People's Republic of China), Canada, People's Republic of China (PRC), Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru , Russia, Singapore, USA, Thailand, Taiwan, Chile, Philippines, South Korea, Japan).
APEC was founded in Canberra (Australia) on the initiative of Australian Prime Minister B. Hawke in 1989. Initially, APEC included 12 countries - 6 developed countries of the Pacific Ocean (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA, South Korea, Japan) and 6 developing states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines).
By 1997, APEC already included almost all the main countries of the Pacific region: Hong Kong (1993), China (1993), Mexico (1994), Papua New Guinea (1994), Taiwan (1993), Chile (1995) became new members. In 1998, simultaneously with the admission of three new members to APEC - Russia, Vietnam and Peru - a 10-year moratorium was introduced on further expansion of the Forum's membership. India and Mongolia have applied to join APEC.
It should be noted that APEC includes 19 countries and two special territories - Hong Kong (Hong Kong, which is part of the People's Republic of China) and Taiwan, therefore its members are officially called not APEC member countries, but APEC economies.
The creation of APEC was preceded by the long development in the 1960-1980s in the Asia-Pacific region of more local economic unions - ASEAN, the Pacific Economic Council, the Conference on Pacific Economic Cooperation, the South Pacific Forum, etc. Back in 1965, Japanese economist K. Kojima proposed creating a Pacific free trade area with the participation of industrialized countries in the region. The process of interaction intensified in the 1980s, when the countries of the Far East began to demonstrate high and stable economic growth.
Initially, APEC's highest body was the annual ministerial meeting. Since 1993, the main form of APEC organizational activity has been the annual summits (informal meetings) of the leaders of APEC countries, during which declarations are adopted summarizing the overall results of the Forum’s activities for the year and determining the prospects for further activities. Sessions of the ministers of foreign affairs and economics are held with greater frequency.
The goals of the Asia-Pacific Forum for Economic Cooperation were officially defined in 1991 in the Seoul Declaration. This is to ensure a free, open trade regime in accordance with the norms of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and strengthening regional cooperation.
In 1994, the creation of a free and open trade system and a liberal investment regime in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020 was announced as a strategic goal. The most developed countries must implement liberalization by 2010. Each country independently determines its status and the timing of the introduction of new regimes based on individual action plans.
APEC activities are carried out on the basis of predominantly informal mechanisms and are developing in various directions. The main operating principles are:
Cooperation is only in the economic sphere. From the very beginning, APEC viewed itself not as a politically cohesive grouping of countries, but as a loose “collection of economies.” The term "economics" emphasizes that this organization discusses economic rather than political issues. The fact is that the PRC did not recognize the independent statehood of Hong Kong and Taiwan, so they were officially considered not countries, but territories (Taiwan still has this status in the mid-2000s);
Almost complete absence of a special administrative apparatus. APEC was formed as a free consultative forum without any rigid organizational structure or large bureaucracy. The APEC Secretariat, located in Singapore, consists of only 21 diplomats representing APEC member countries, as well as 20 local employees. The main working bodies of APEC are the Business Advisory Council, three expert committees (committee on trade and investment, economic committee, administrative and budgetary committee) and 11 working groups in various sectors of the economy;
Refusal of coercion, primacy of voluntariness. APEC is not an organization with enforcement powers in conflict resolution (like, for example, the WTO). In contrast, APEC operates only on the basis of consultation and consensus. The main driving incentive is the positive examples of “neighbors” and the desire to follow them. APEC countries officially demonstrate their commitment to the principle of open regionalism, which is usually interpreted as freedom for APEC members to choose specific mechanisms for trade liberalization;
Priority attention to information exchange. The main element of the interaction between APEC member countries is the open exchange of information. We can say that the immediate goal of this economic unification is not so much a single economic space as a single information space. There is an exchange, first of all, of information about business projects of the participating countries. The growth of information openness makes it possible for businessmen from each country to engage in business activities throughout APEC;
Refusal of rigid planning for the prospects for the evolution of the Forum. At APEC conferences, the issue of creating the Asia-Pacific Economic Community, APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Community) as a free trade and investment zone was repeatedly raised. However, the enormous heterogeneity of the participating countries prevents the implementation of these plans. Therefore, even in the mid-2000s, APEC was more of a discussion forum with some features of an integration association than such an association in the full sense of the word. The course towards the creation of ARES is fixed in a number of official documents (for example, in the Bogor Declaration of 1994 and in the Manila Program of Action of 1996), but entry into ARES is planned only by 2010 for industrially developed participating countries and by 2020 for developing countries. The implementation of this plan is by no means indisputable: in 1995, at the Osaka APEC summit, the start date for the formation of a free trade zone was already announced (January 1, 1997), but this decision was not implemented.
APEC began with a modest program of negotiations on the development of mutual trade. At the APEC summit in Osaka, more than a dozen priority areas of activity have already been identified:
trade tariffs;
non-tariff measures to regulate mutual trade;
international services;
international investments;
standardization of goods and services;
customs procedures;
intellectual property rights;
competition policy;
distribution of government orders;
rules regarding the origin of goods;
mediation in disputes;
mobility of businessmen;
implementation of the results of the Uruguay round of trade negotiations within the WTO;
collection and analysis of information.
The most important area is activities aimed at stimulating mutual trade and foreign investment.
In an effort to create a free investment zone, APEC countries are taking measures to stimulate the movement of capital between the countries of the region: reducing the number of industries closed to foreign direct investment, simplifying the visa regime for entrepreneurs, and providing wide access to economic information.
APEC's activities are aimed at stimulating mutual trade and developing cooperation, in particular in such areas as technical standards and certification, customs harmonization, development of raw materials industries, transport, energy, and small businesses.
It is expected that by 2020, within the framework of APEC, the world's largest free trade area without internal barriers and customs will be formed.
The recognized course of Pacific economic organizations is the so-called open regionalism. Its essence is that the development of cooperative ties and the removal of restrictions on the movement of goods, labor and capital within a given region is combined with compliance with the principles of the WTO/GATT, the rejection of protectionism in relation to other countries, and the stimulation of the development of extra-regional economic ties.
The strategic goal of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum is to create a system of free and open trade and a liberal investment regime in the Asia-Pacific region by 2020. APEC member countries are moving towards achieving this goal by leaps and bounds, and Russia occupies one of the leading positions on this path.