Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Context:
- The United States has invited all members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to participate in upcoming leaders’ meetings in California, but “appropriate representation” for certain leaders who are under U.S. sanctions is being worked out, according to a senior State Department official.
About APEC:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum of 21 Asia-Pacific economies.
- APEC’s member economies are home to more than 2.9 billion people and make up over 60 per cent of global GDP.
- APEC partners make up around 75 per cent of Australia’s total trade in goods and services.
APEC was formed to encourage a growing and prosperous regional economy through:
- trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation – at the border, across the border and behind the border
- reduced costs of cross-border trade to assist businesses
- economic and technical cooperation
- exchanges of best practice information on trade and investment
- simplified regulatory and administrative processes
- improved institutional capacity to implement and take advantage of the benefits of trade and investment reform.
APEC members:
APEC’s 21 member economies are:
- Australia
- Brunei Darussalam
- Canada
- Chile
- Chinese Taipei
- Hong Kong, China
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- People’s Republic of China
- Peru
- Republic of Korea
- The Republic of the Philippines
- The Russian Federation
- Singapore
- Thailand
- United States of America
- Vietnam.
Syllabus: Prelims
