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APEC

APEC leaders urge ’concrete vision’ on Asia free trade, set no targets
14-Nov-2010 Bloomberg
Asia-Pacific leaders said they will take “concrete steps” toward creating a “comprehensive” regional free-trade agreement, without setting a target for achieving that goal.
Top APEC officials lay groundwork for regional FTA
9-Nov-2010 Japan Times
Senior regional officials concluded their meeting Monday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Yokohama with a decision to pursue a regionwide free-trade zone.
APEC debates becoming body that can forge FTA
8-Nov-2010 AP
Pacific Rim economies are debating whether to change the informal Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum so that it can negotiate the creation of a Pacific-wide free trade zone.
APEC to refer to Pacific FTA as pathway to free trade area: draft
4-Nov-2010 Mainichi
At the annual APEC summit meeting in Yokohama on Nov. 13 and 14, the 21-member forum is planning to specify for the first time in its declaration the possible efforts to realize the long-term goal of creating a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
TPP briefings to be held on APEC sidelines
27-Oct-2010 Japan Times
Japan, China, Canada and the Philippines will be briefed on progress in the ongoing talks to expand the four-member Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings on 9 November in Yokohama.
APEC business leaders hope for creation of regional free-trade zone
15-Oct-2010 Mainichi
A business advisory body to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum called on APEC leaders Thursday to recommit themselves to create a region-wide free trade zone, saying it is the "most practical means" to realize trade liberalization.
Regional trade pacts take Pacific spotlight ahead of APEC summit
27-Sep-2010 Japan Times
In less than two months, Pacific Rim countries are expected to present a clear picture on how they will pursue their long-term vision of creating a regionwide free-trade zone.
Asia Pacific ministers claim progress in free trade goals
7-Jun-2010 AFP
Ministers from the Asia Pacific nations said on Sunday they had made "significant progress" toward free-trade goals set in 1994 as they closed a two-day APEC meeting in Japan.
Business leaders to step up push for Asia-Pacific free trade area
12-May-2010 CNA
APEC’s business lobby, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council, will urge 21 government leaders to set a timetable for the creation of a regional free trade area later this year
Free trade high on APEC agenda
22-Feb-2010 Japan Times
Senior officials from Pacific Rim economies will agree on the need for a free-trade zone in the region when they meet in Hiroshima on Monday and Tuesday, according to a draft of the agenda.
Free-trade pacts ignore labor
13-Jan-2010 Bsuienss Mirror
Recruitment agencies caution the Philippine government in signing free-trade agreements with developed countries because they will only result in further job losses for local workers
US wants Japan, Malaysia, South Korea to join talks
15-Dec-2009 Bloomberg
The US wants Japan, Malaysia and South Korea to join negotiations for a regional free-trade agreement in Asia, Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
APEC free trade a key issue under Japan’s leadership
10-Dec-2009 Japan Times
The Japanese government said Wednesday it will accelerate efforts to get Pacific Rim economies to create a free-trade area during a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings next year
Regional integration is a pipe dream
17-Nov-2009
Those who favour a big push for regional integration in Asia now have their day in the sun. They say that the global economic crisis has accelerated the decline of America and the rise of China, India and other emerging powers. Power is shifting inexorably from the West to Asia.
APEC to assign Japan to develop proposals for Asia Pacific FTA
5-Nov-2009 Kyodo
Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will set Japan, the next APEC chair, the task of identifying ways for the 21-member grouping to create a free trade bloc in the future, according to a draft statement they are expected to issue at their Nov. 14 to 15 summit in Singapore.
Asia-Pacific Business Chambers Want TPP Negotiations Top On APEC Agenda
26-Oct-2009
Four Singapore-based Asia-Pacific business chambers today urged their governments to place the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations at the top of their trade policy agendas in the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting here early next month.
Asia-Pacific businesses losing interest in Doha
19-Oct-2009 Business World
Businesses are becoming less interested in the World Trade Organization’s attempts to forge a global deal as long-standing talks have yet to yield results, a private sector group affiliated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation warned late last week.
Leaders press for Asia Pacific free trade area
31-Aug-2009 FIS
It is time for APEC to take more concrete actions towards establishing a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) in view of the financial crisis and the stalled Doha Round negotiations, says the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
After APEC, free trade orthodoxy questioned
26-Nov-2008 AP
Leaders of 21 nations that represent half the global economy fear a raft of new protectionist barriers will strangle commerce as the world slides into a frightening recession. There are growing signs that developing countries will erect protectionist barriers to weather the crisis, partly because they have seen that time after time, "free trade" agreements have focused chiefly on beating rivals to market.
APEC leaders to push trade as way out of crisis
20-Nov-2008 Reuters
The United States, China, Japan and some emerging economy heavyweights will push for quick action on free trade deals at a summit meeting this weekend as an antidote to a looming recession in much of the world.