APEC still thinking about accepting new member nations

By the end of next year, a group of 21 countries working to promote free trade will examine whether it will accept more members. The APEC will meet in Tokyo, Japan in 2010 to decide whether or not to lift the moratorium and accept other members, Edsel Custodio, the Philippines’ Foreign Affairs undersecretary, said. “Only then will the issue be tackled," he said on Tuesday, adding that the membership moratorium will end by end-2010. Fourteen nations lobbying to become APEC members come from South America and South Asia, Custodio said. Among the APEC’s 21 member economies, only three countries – Chile, Peru, and Mexico – come from South America, while no country from South Asia, including India, the 12th largest economy in the world, is a member. Other APEC member-nations include the Philippines, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Vietnam. Formed in 1989, the APEC was formed to enhance economic growth and prosperity for the region. Unlike the World Trade Organization or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC has no treaty obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis. Since its inception, APEC has worked to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers across the Asia-Pacific region, creating efficient domestic economies and dramatically increasing exports. APEC member-economies account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 54 percent of the global gross domestic product, and an estimated 44 percent of world trade. - GMANews.TV