Aotearoa Plan of Action

Objective:

“To ensure that the Asia-Pacific remains the world’s most dynamic and interconnected regional economy, we acknowledge the importance of, and will continue to work together to deliver, a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment.”

Evaluation of progress: APEC’s trade and investment environment is free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable.

Individual Actions: Economies will take actions to liberalise trade and investment in a manner that it is free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable.

Collective Actions: Economies will:

Progress liberalisation of trade in goods by reducing unnecessary barriers, strengthening trade facilitation, and fostering regulatory reform;
Progress services liberalisation, facilitation and cooperation, including by implementing the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap;
Promote the flow of quality investment through steps such as work on investment facilitation and liberalisation;
Promote adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property, including by providing capacity building, particularly to spur economic development and innovation; and
Increase trade predictability and openness by improving economies’ transparency through trade measures and policies.

Objective:

“We reaffirm our support for agreed upon rules of the WTO in delivering a well-functioning multilateral trading system and promoting the stability and predictability of international trade flows”

Evaluation of progress: Growth of international trade flows in the region become more stable and predictable including with increased coverage of WTO rules, through APEC members’ effective and transparent implementation of existing and future commitments.

Individual Actions: Economies will implement their WTO commitments. Where appropriate, economies will also seek to accelerate their implementation, go beyond them, and work on ways to further promote the stability and predictability of trade flows.

Collective Actions: Economies will:

Support APEC’s role as an incubator of ideas by advancing new approaches that help deliver a well-functioning multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core;
Support progress of negotiations at the WTO to deliver a trade and investment environment that is free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable;
Support implementation of WTO disciplines arising from negotiations, including in prospective areas such as harmful fisheries subsidies, and agriculture negotiations;
Encourage, as appropriate, WTO members’ discussions towards necessary reform of the WTO across all its functions; and
Advance capacity building programmes to support the implementation of and adherence to WTO rules, including transparency and notification obligations.

Objective:

“We will further advance the Bogor Goals and economic integration in the region in a manner that is market-driven, including through the work on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda which contributes to high standard and comprehensive regional undertakings.”

Evaluation of progress: Economic integration occurs in the region by advancing the unfinished business of the Bogor Goals in a manner that is market-driven and through the development of high standard and comprehensive regional undertakings.

Individual Actions: Economies will continue to support ongoing efforts to conclude, ratify, implement and upgrade high standard and comprehensive trade agreements as appropriate.

Collective Actions: Economies will:

Complete the unfinished business of the Bogor Goals and further deepen economic integration in the region in a manner that is market-driven;
Effectively advance efforts on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda, consistent with the Lima Declaration;
Strengthen APEC’s key role as an incubator of ideas on trade and investment issues in the region;
Advance capacity building programmes and cooperate on best practice for the development of and participation in high standard regional undertakings; and
Carry out discussions on, and studies into, areas of convergence and divergence across all chapters of trade agreements in the region that contribute to high standard and comprehensive undertakings.

Objective:

“We will promote seamless connectivity, resilient supply chains and responsible business conduct.”

Evaluation of progress: To promote seamless connectivity, resilient supply chains and responsible business conduct, APEC economies will improve physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity.

Individual Actions: Economies will develop tools and adopt policies that foster seamless connectivity, resilient supply chains and responsible business conduct.

Collective Actions: Economies will:

Implement APEC's Connectivity Blueprint, including by strengthening connectivity and resilient supply chains within APEC, and by cooperating to equip businesses to better understand their supply chains;
Promote trade and investment facilitation for all, including by:
- fully implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and seeking to build on it where appropriate;
- working towards digitalising border processes facilitated by application of internationally recognised standards, strengthening customs cooperation and increasing port cooperation; and
- the adoption and improvement of effective standards and conformance systems, encompassing standardisation, accreditation, metrology, conformity assessment and market surveillance;
Address key infrastructure gaps and enhance connectivity by creating transparent regulatory environments, promoting dialogue, and sharing best practices that enable quality infrastructure development and investment, which remains accessible, sustainable and affordable with respect to life-cycle costs;
Improve digital connectivity in the region;
Promote and cooperate on measures that facilitate the safe cross-border movement of people, particularly in the context of changing pandemic related health and travel measures, so as to strengthen tourism, aviation and similarly affected sectors;
Strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation to promote responsible business conduct, particularly with the private sector; and
Promote capacity building to improve physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity.

Trade and Investment

“To ensure that the Asia-Pacific remains the world’s most dynamic and interconnected regional economy, we acknowledge the importance of, and will continue to work together to deliver, a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment.”

“We reaffirm our support for agreed upon rules of the WTO in delivering a well-functioning multilateral trading system and promoting the stability and predictability of international trade flows”

“We will further advance the Bogor Goals and economic integration in the region in a manner that is market-driven, including through the work on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) agenda which contributes to high standard and comprehensive regional undertakings.”

“We will promote seamless connectivity, resilient supply chains and responsible business conduct.”

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