The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: APEC Leaders Agree on Actions to Promote Regional Economic Integration and Trade

Strengthening regional economic integration (REI) in the Asia-Pacific region by removing barriers to trade and investment remains the core mission of APEC and was one of the main themes for work in APEC in 2014.  This year, APEC Leaders agreed on a series of outcomes that will help advance U.S. trade and investment interests, and build on APEC's successes in this area over the past several years. Most notable among these are the establishment of an APEC fund dedicated to helping economies overcome specific obstacles to implementation of APEC and WTO commitments on supply chain and trade facilitation and the groundbreaking APEC commitment to reduce tariffs on a list of environmental goods to 5 percent or less by the end of 2015.

Environmental Goods-  To ensure the full implementation of APEC's ground-breaking 2011 commitment to reduce applied tariffs on the 54 products in the APEC List of Environmental Goods to five percent or less by the end of 2015, economies agreed to submit implementation plans by the time of the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in spring of next year.  APEC is also undertaking technical assistance that will help economies fully implement their commitments.

Good Regulatory Practices-  APEC economies continue to strengthen the implementation of good regulatory practices. This year Leaders agreed to take steps to improve the conduct of public consultations through using information technology and the Internet.  This new approach presents enormous opportunities for regulators in the region to consult more effectively with stakeholders, both foreign and domestic, and gain the best possible understanding of the possible economic impact of regulations.  APEC Ministers encouraged economies to provide innovative capacity building approaches to the implementation of good regulatory practices and the use of regulatory tools.

Electric Vehicles-  To promote the widespread use of environmentally friendly, technologically-advanced electric vehicles, APEC economies agreed to several steps, including using international standards as the basis for regulations on electric vehicles; creating a priority list of international standards important for electric vehicles; working towards aligning regulations and avoiding regulatory divergences, particularly regarding electric vehicle charging; and establishing and APEC Electric Vehicles Interoperability and Research Center to help economies meet their regulatory alignment objectives. Through these steps, APEC will encourage greater electric vehicle production and use - and greater trade and investment opportunities - while advancing APEC's green growth, connectivity, regulatory coherence, and regional economic integration objectives.

Supply Chain Performance- APEC Leaders agreed to accelerate technical assistance and capacity building to help economies improve supply chain performance, in support of the APEC-wide goal of a ten percent improvement in supply chain performance by the end of 2015. With a dedicated fund already in place, economies this year agreed to create a comprehensive capacity building plan for using the resources in this fund, and established a new body of public and private supply chain experts to advise the technical assistance and capacity building projects under the plan.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: Leading the Fight Against Corruption and Bribery

Across the Asia-Pacific Region

Today, President Obama and APEC Leaders agreed to elevate their efforts in fighting corruption and bribery across the Asia-Pacific region.  Leaders encouraged APEC Member Economies to enhance cross-border cooperation in combating public corruption, business bribery, money laundering, and illicit trade.  The creation of a new network of anticorruption authorities and law enforcement agencies (ACT-NET) will support these actions and reinforces APEC's overall efforts to spur economic growth and greater investment and trade across all economies.

Anti-Bribery and Corporate Compliance

APEC Leaders also adopted the APEC Principles on the Prevention of Bribery and Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Laws, and APEC General Elements of Effective Voluntary Corporate Compliance Programs. The new principles to prevent bribery and improve the enforcement of economies' domestic and foreign bribery laws will enhance APEC economies' compliance with their respective international commitments and help to level the playing field for U.S. companies engaged in international business.

Adopting the APEC Principles will illustrate to our citizens and the world APEC's commitment to preventing, detecting and effectively prosecuting foreign bribery, and recovering the corrupt proceeds of such offenses.  Similarly, adopting the APEC General Elements of Effective Voluntary Corporate Compliance Programs will reinforce the strong message to the business community that the private sector has an important role to play, and provide valuable guidance to our businesses on how to expose corruption.

Business Ethics for Small and Medium Enterprises

APEC Ministers have also endorsed three sets of APEC principles for voluntary codes of ethics in sectors where SMEs are the major stakeholders with a view towards their adoption across APEC economies.  Corruption imposes a significant market access barrier and high costs particularly for SMEs, which can be disproportionately impacted by bribery and solicitation, resulting in a net drain on economic growth.  The United States worked closely with APEC economies in developing the voluntary ethics principles and is now conducting a series of workshops with APEC trading partners to implement them.  The first SME Business Ethics Forum was held in Nanjing, China in September 2014, to highlight accomplishments, including the adoption of 18 new industry association codes across 9 APEC member economies.  Participants issued the Nanjing Declaration to Promote Ethical Business Environments in the Medical Device and Biopharmaceutical Sectors for SMEs which calls on APEC member economies to double the number of codes for the healthcare sector between 2012 and 2015.  A similar event was held in September in Manila, with focus on the construction and engineering sector.

U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

The Obama Administration, following long-standing U.S. efforts, takes a firm stand against public corruption within the United States and abroad with respect to American and other companies that engage in bribing foreign officials to obtain or retain business.

Through the enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and our Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice and our other law enforcement and regulatory agencies have vigorously pursued bribe payers of all stripes: large corporations and small companies; powerful CEOs and frontline sales agents; U.S. and foreign companies; citizens and foreign nationals; direct payers and intermediaries.

President Obama and the U.S. Government continue to drive a robust agenda to prevent and prosecute corruption around the world to hold accountable those who exploit the public's trust for private gain.  Preventing corruption preserves funds for public revenue and thereby helps drive development and economic growth.  By contrast, pervasive corruption siphons revenue away from the public budget and undermines the rule of law and the confidence of citizens in their governments.  It also facilitates human rights abuses and organized crime, empowers kleptocracies, and can threaten the stability of entire regions.  The United States views corruption as a growing threat to the national security of our country and allies around the world.

International Cooperation in other Fora

Through these and other longstanding efforts, the United States remains a global leader on anticorruption.  The United States was a leader in developing fundamental international legal frameworks such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions negotiated at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the global architecture for international legal cooperation in areas such as asset recovery and denial of entry.  The United States continues to lead in providing funding for capacity building to fight corruption and promote good governance.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: Fulfilling Leaders’ Instructions on Quality in Higher Education

As the global financial crisis swept the APEC region and the world, APEC Leaders emphasized the importance of education and training as a major pillar of APEC’s inclusive growth strategy.  APEC has since focused more explicitly on access to quality higher education and the role of postsecondary cross-border education mobility as an important part of APEC’s regional economic integration agenda.  In 2012, APEC Leaders recognized that “increasing cross-border student flows will strengthen regional ties, build people to people exchanges, and promote economic development through knowledge and skills transfer. High quality cross-border education equips students with the 21st century competencies they need for their full participation in a globalized and knowledge based society.”  Last year, APEC Leaders introduced a new Framework of Connectivity and cited postsecondary cross-border education as a major part of the people-to-people connectivity agenda.  They committed to the setting of 2020 regional student mobility goals, as well as other education goals shared by all 21 APEC Economies, and in 2013 APEC Leaders endorsed the “target of 1 million intra-APEC university-level students by year 2020,” recognizing that access to quality higher education through student mobility helps developing economies enhance workforce capacity to ensure sustainable development.

To better promote the Leaders’ Connectivity agenda through cross-border education cooperation that can stimulate growth in the region, the United States has been advancing the following initiatives in cooperation with APEC economies:

APEC Scholarships and Internships Initiative

The United States and other APEC members announced this week the APEC Scholarship and Internship initiative, which will provide new APEC-branded scholarship and internship opportunities and will also provide links to major websites on other existing scholarships in the APEC region.  Responding directly to the commitments made by Leaders in 2012 and 2013 to promote cross-border education, the initiative aims to expand education and training opportunities for students and professionals.

All three of the U.S. ABAC member companies—Caterpillar, Eli Lilly, and Microsoft— as well as GE, EMD (Merck) Serono, Colorado State University, the University of Colorado, and the University of Washington Evans School are partnering with APEC and the United States to offer more than thirty scholarships and paid internships for cross-border opportunities in the APEC region.  Australia, China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Singapore have also announced that they will make scholarship and internship opportunities available in their economies, totaling over 150 total cross-border opportunities announced through the APEC Scholarship and Internship initiative.

Apart from this, through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Government provides nearly $50 million each year alongside other partner governments to support the exchange of more than 2,000 students and scholars between the United States and APEC economies. The U.S. Government also offers EducationUSA advisory services in person and online in all APEC economies for students seeking accurate, current, and comprehensive information about opportunities to study at accredited U.S. colleges and universities.

Data Collection

In support of APEC’s student mobility target, the United States, with support from Australia, launched the first phase of a five-year project, APEC Education Mobility Data Collection Survey and Report, in July 2014.  For each member economy, the survey responses will be compiled into economy-level reports that will 1) identify key stakeholders in international education mobility, 2) document domestic data collection methodologies and indicators, and 3) show current trends in in-bound and out-bound education mobility.  Furthermore, the information collected will be used to establish a baseline of APEC economies’ current education data collection efforts, which could then inform potential capacity building efforts to support APEC economies in tracking mobility.  Many economies have national data collection organizations, but the data collection process currently varies widely from economy to economy in terms of methodology, frequency of data collection, key definitions, and scope.  By aligning regional data collection methodologies and practices, APEC members can utilize that foundation to identify gaps in student mobility and opportunities to further promote regional educational exchanges in the lead up to 2020.

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: Promoting Energy Security and Clean, Efficient, and Sustainable Energy Development in the APEC Region

APEC's member economies account for approximately 60 percent of global energy demand and increasing energy consumption due to growing populations and urbanization poses a real challenge to the region's economic sustainability. In addition, the APEC region is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change.  APEC Leaders agreed to take the following steps to strengthen energy security, promote efficient and sustainable energy development, develop clean energy sources, and reduce the impacts of climate change.  All of these efforts support the President's Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, increase resiliency to climate change impacts, and expand international collaboration to collectively address energy and climate challenges.

  • Endorse an aspirational goal to double the share of renewable energy in APEC's overall energy mix by 2030 and intensify cooperation to achieve it.
  • Reaffirm their commitment to reduce energy intensity of their economies by 45 percent by 2035, with practical steps to increase capacity building and cooperation.
  • Renew their commitment to rationalize and phase out in efficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful energy consumption, including through peer reviews.
  • Improve capacity building and develop emergency response mechanisms to support secure and stable oil and gas supplies and ensure effective response to supply disruptions.
  • Increase resilience of our energy infrastructure to natural disasters and climate change.

Doubling Renewable Energy in APEC's Energy Mix

  • APEC economies are committed to develop clean energy sources, support innovation for renewable energy technologies, and share best practices on making such technologies economically viable. To support the doubling of renewable energy in the APEC energy mix, the U.S.-chaired APEC Energy Working Group (EWG) will pursue a number of new collaborative projects that focus on capacity building and grid integration of renewables.

Reducing Energy Intensity

  • In 2011, APEC Leaders agreed to aspire to a 45 percent reduction of regional aggregate energy intensity of their economies by 2035 from a 2005 baseline. The EWG has implemented, and will initiate, a number of projects to boost energy efficiency in appliances, buildings, data centers, and transport, to review product and system standards that enhance energy efficiency, and to improve energy efficiency technologies and data. The EWG will continue efficiency peer reviews to provide recommendations for goals and action plans.

Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform

  • In 2009, APEC Leaders committed to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce wasteful energy consumption that constrains economic growth. In 2011, Leaders established a voluntary reporting mechanism on progress and, in 2013, the EWG developed a methodology for conducting voluntary peer reviews. These reviews are similar to those conducted by members of the G-20.  Peru completed and New Zealand initiated peer reviews this year.  The Philippines will undertake one next year.  APEC welcomes additional participants for peer reviews, which help assess the impact of fossil fuel subsidies and provide recommendations for reform.

Energy-Water Nexus

  • To understand the interdependence between energy and water, the United States, China, and Australia initiated a project to assess the energy-water nexus across the region.  This will help APEC economies understand the increasing demands for clean and abundant energy and water posed by growing populations, identify potential vulnerabilities across sectors, and develop ways to use resources more efficiently.

Improving Resilience of our Energy Infrastructure

  • APEC economies are committed to developing emergency response mechanisms and capacity building to address short-term energy supply disruptions.  Work has focused on improving the response to oil and gas emergencies in the APEC region and building energy infrastructure resiliency to natural disasters and climate change.  APEC economies are working to increase timely, transparent and reliable energy data, build capacity and training for emergency response, and develop microgrid and other technologies that can help prepare for, and respond to, energy supply disruptions.

Free Trade in Environmental Goods

  • APEC economies agreed to develop individual implementation plans to meet the groundbreaking Leaders commitment, made in the 2011 U.S. APEC host year, to reduce tariffs on environmental goods to five percent or less by the end of 2015.  In 2012, APEC economies developed a list of 54 environmental goods, such as water treatment filters, gas and wind turbines, and solar water heaters, which would be subject to this tariff reduction commitment.  The APEC initiative and the President's Climate Action Plan provided impetus for the United States and 13 other WTO members, including China and a number of other APEC economies, to launch the WTO Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) negotiations in July 2014.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: APEC Breaks Down Barriers to Women’s Economic Participation

President Barack Obama and other Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum made historic commitments today in Beijing to advance women’s economic participation.  The UN estimates that the APEC region loses upwards of $89 billion in GDP a year due to laws, policies, and social norms that inhibit women from being able to fully participate in and benefit from the economy. In 2011 under U.S. leadership, APEC elevated and energized its focus on women’s economic empowerment.  Since then, APEC Ministers and Leaders from all 21 economies collectively have agreed to take action to realize the full potential of women, focusing efforts on five key pillars impacting women’s economic empowerment, women’s access to markets, skills, capacity building and health, women’s leadership, and innovation and technology. APEC economies seek to support gender responsive programs and policies across all sectors and to identify potential areas of action or regulatory reform to advance women’s economic participation.  To turn this vision into action, the United States and APEC Leaders agreed today in Beijing to launch, support, and expand five regional initiatives.

APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard

Since 2011, APEC Ministers have convened to identify barriers to women’s economic participation and recommended regional and domestic actions to realize progress. Increasingly across APEC fora, data is used to measure progress and underpin policy discussions, such as through APEC initiatives on the Ease of Doing Business and Supply Chain Performance. Likewise to advance women’s economic participation, data is needed to create a common baseline, to focus capacity building efforts, and to develop evidence-based policy recommendations.  This is especially true as many economies still do not collect sex-disaggregated data.

To fill this need, the United States has worked with the other member APEC economies to establish the Women and the Economy Dashboard, a framework built on 26 contributing factors, to track and measure APEC’s progress in improving women’s economic participation. The framework will help policy makers in APEC to prioritize collective efforts on policy and capacity building as well as inform each economy’s domestic goals. Measurements will include key indicators across the five core areas of: 1) access to capital, including financial inclusion; 2) access to trade and labor markets; 3) skills, capacity building and health, including policies related to domestic violence and discrimination against women; 4) leadership, including national identification; and 5) innovation and technology, including access to cell phones and the internet as well as (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education.

The APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard is a milestone achievement, which parallels and complements efforts being undertaken in the G20 on female labor force participation and in the post-2015 sustainable development goals process.

Women’s Entrepreneurship in APEC (WE-APEC) Network In May, Ministers at the APEC Women and the Economy Forum called for the launch of an “Asia-Pacific regional women’s entrepreneurship network of networks to assist women entrepreneurs in all APEC economies in better connecting to each other, and expanding their channels and opportunities to engage in regional trade and economic cooperation.”  Responding to this call, the United States with support from Australia has launched the development of a Women’s Entrepreneurship in APEC (WE-APEC) Network.  WE-APEC, a cross-cutting regional network, will aim to identify and connect women’s entrepreneurship networks in each economy with public and private sector support services and global supply chains to ultimately expand economic opportunities and regional trade.

The initial phase of the WE-APEC initiative aims to:

1) conduct a regional assessment of existing networks and public and private sector support services;

2) develop regional analysis on best practices and gaps within the APEC region regarding women’s entrepreneurship networks; and

3) launch an online platform that allows governments, entrepreneurs and the private sector to link to regional women’s entrepreneurship networks and provides a sustainable mechanism to link women entrepreneurs through the region and facilitates information sharing, best practices and opportunities.

Healthy Women, Healthy Economies

The Asia-Pacific region lags behind other global regions with respect to women's health and survival relative to that of men. Sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved if one-half of the workforce (women) is unable to fully participate in the economy due to health implications.  Women must enjoy equal protection on the job and be free from domestic violence and other gender-specific health and social challenges that impact workplace productivity.  Raising female labor force participation would raise GDP substantially – by as much as five percent in the United States and nine percent in Japan. To address this need, the United States launched the “Healthy Women, Healthy Economies” multi-year initiative in APEC to develop policy recommendations and actions that aim to enhance women’s economic participation by improving women’s health.  In 2014, the initiative began with an APEC expert’s group focused on identifying health-related barriers preventing women from entering or remaining in the work force. The barriers identified included 1) lack of women- and family-friendly health services, workplace policies, and education, 2) lack of access to basic healthcare, and 3) health issues such as domestic and workplace violence.

Women’s Leadership

In 2014, APEC economies agreed to work towards establishing measurable, aspirational, and voluntary goals to increase women’s representation in leadership roles.  They also agreed to support the development of research on gender diversity in public and private-sector leadership positions in the APEC region.  To meet these goals, APEC economies agreed to identify and share private sector best practices that have resulted in increasing women’s representation in senior leadership positions within the last two to three years.  The results were reported and published in a report launched this week in Beijing entitled 50 Leading Companies for Women in APEC.  Seven U.S. companies were highlighted for their innovative practices which promote women in leadership, including Citi Bank’s Hong Kong Office, Proctor & Gamble, State Street, AT&T, Eli Lilly, Baxter, and Qualcomm.

Women in Transportation

The APEC Women in Transportation initiative, launched by the United States in 2012 within APEC’s Transportation Working Group, focuses on the linkages between increasing women’s economic participation and critical labor shortages in the transportation sector. In 2014, the WiT Task Force was established to lead efforts to address inequality and projected future labor shortages in the Asia-Pacific transportation sector by including more women in the workforce of APEC Economies.  The WiT Task Force is the only industry-specific initiative seeking to translate the overarching policy objectives of the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy into demonstrable policy improvements with measurable impacts on gender equity in the transportation sector.  Efforts will focus on education, access to jobs, retention, and leadership.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: Key Infrastructure Initiatives Supporting U.S. Economic Priorities Work in the G20 and APEC

Infrastructure investment is essential for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth.  Having highly interconnected and dependable transportation networks, a reliable electric grid, and well-run and maintained water infrastructure means we can efficiently move goods to market, improve access to good jobs, and enhance the quality of life for our citizens.  Infrastructure investment needs are huge and will require optimally leveraging existing financial resources, building government capacity to develop and execute investments under a coherent strategy, and improving coordination within government and with a full-range of stakeholders.

In Cairns, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors recognized that increasing investment, particularly in infrastructure, is critical to boosting demand and lifting growth.  They outlined a multi-year agenda to promote greater knowledge-sharing and facilitate infrastructure investment in emerging and developing countries and provided support for significant measures underway through the multilateral development banks (MDBs).  This broad agenda includes:

  • Creating the Global Infrastructure Initiative (GII), a global knowledge platform on infrastructure investment opportunities and best practices that will carry forward the G20 work on infrastructure over several years. The Initiative will work closely with governments, MDBs, and the private sector to disseminate best practices, address critical data gaps, and consolidate information on the pipeline of infrastructure projects around the world;
  • Supporting the World Bank Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), a significant new initiative that will help improve the domestic investment climate in developing countries, increase the number of bankable infrastructure projects, and increase the volume of resources available for investment in infrastructure.  The GIF is designed to be an upstream platform to facilitate development of large, complex infrastructure projects by coordinating the multiple stakeholders (including the World Bank) involved in project preparation and financing; and
  • Encouraging the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue optimizing their balance sheets to increase the volume of resources available to finance infrastructure throughout the developing world.  Reforms currently underway at these institutions will allow them to increase their lending capacities by 40-50 percent, or $11 billion in extra lending each year, much of which is likely to be devoted to the infrastructure sector.

In Beijing, APEC Finance Ministers committed to advance long-standing APEC work on infrastructure investment and financing, in particular through promoting interested members’ capacity to engage in public-private partnerships (PPP).Well-designed PPP projects can lead to faster delivery and improved quality of infrastructure services, and provide value for tax payers by allocating risks and responsibilities to those who can most cost-effectively manage them.   Specifically, Ministers:

  • Endorsed the Implementation Roadmap to Develop Successful Infrastructure PPP Projects in the APEC Region, to assist government officials of APEC member economies to better understand, prepare, structure and implement infrastructure PPP projects and appropriate financing arrangements.  This work advances the Multi-Year Plan on Infrastructure Development and Investment, endorsed under Indonesia’s presidency of APEC in 2013;
  • Encouraged interested member economies to set up their own PPP centers; and
  • Welcomed the launch of the APEC PPP Experts Advisory Panel, which is an important resource to build the capacity of Indonesia’s pilot PPP Center and to facilitate regional sharing of knowledge with other member economies and private sector dialogues under the Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Partnership.

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: APEC Leaders Commit to Protect the Environment

Protecting the environment is a top priority for the United States. President Obama has repeatedly stressed the importance of the environment as “front and center” in American diplomacy, trade, and economic policy. This commitment has been evident in the substantial steps taken by the United States to protect the global environment for example, through our actions to reduce carbon pollution under the Climate Action Plan, to protect sensitive ecosystems such as in the vast Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and to support the development of new technologies that can promote economic prosperity while improving environmental performance. Most recently, the United States hosted the “Our Ocean” Conference, resulting in $1.8 billion in pledges from across the globe to conserve the ocean and mitigate climate change. The United States has also led the way in promoting free trade in environmental goods, which would contribute to environmental protection as well as economic growth.

With U.S. leadership, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum plays an important role in pursuing green and sustainable growth in the region. APEC has elevated initiatives and partnerships aimed at promoting environmental protection in a diverse set of areas including: addressing wildlife trafficking and illegal logging; sustainable management of ocean and coastal resources; energy efficiency and infrastructure for electric vehicles; responsible mining practices; chemical health and safety cooperation; and trade in environmental goods, and aviation emissions.

Wildlife Trafficking

Trade for illegal wildlife products, such as tiger, pangolin, elephant ivory, and rhino horn, is worth billions of dollars in Asia alone and current trade is at a record high. Wildlife trafficking is increasingly perpetrated by well-armed, well-equipped, and well-organized networks of criminals whose actions promote corruption, threaten global peace and security, strengthens illicit trade routes, destabilizes economies and communities that depend on wildlife for their livelihoods, and contribute to the spread of disease.  Earlier this year, President Obama issued a new National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking which establishes three strategic priorities: strengthening domestic and global enforcement; reducing demand for illegally traded wildlife at home and abroad; and strengthening partnerships to combat illegal wildlife poaching and trade.

APEC serves as a valuable forum to pursue efforts to combat this pernicious trade by tackling the demand side of the economic equation, shifting consumer purchasing patterns in tandem with bolstering law enforcement cooperation.  Since 2012, APEC Leaders have committed to combating wildlife trafficking, and we are implementing that commitment. Through APEC, the United States recently partnered with Vietnam and the Asian Development Bank to support an APEC-wide workshop to build capacity within economies in the region to reduce demand for illegally traded wildlife.  We plan to strengthen policies and legislative frameworks, enhance investigative and law enforcement cooperation, and further develop capacities for detecting, prosecuting and adjudicating wildlife-related crimes and related corruption through capacity building for law enforcement, customs, and judicial officials in 2015.  The United States is also working with many of our APEC partners in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations to secure commitments to combat wildlife trafficking, enhance law enforcement cooperation, and effectively implement and enforce international species conservation commitments.

Illegal Logging and Associated Trade

Illegal logging and associated trade is a significant concern in the Asia-Pacific region and undermines legal trade in timber products.  It also threatens biodiversity and sustainable management of forests for both economic development and climate change mitigation.  In 2011, APEC established an Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade to strengthen and enhance APEC’s efforts to combat illegal logging and promote legal wood products trade.  With U.S. leadership, the Experts Group is developing APEC policy guidelines on the scope of laws relevant to identifying illegal logging and associated trade.  The United States is also seeking to ensure that the work of the APEC Experts Group complements and supports commitments we are seeking in the TPP agreement negotiations to combat illegal logging and associated trade.

Oceans

The Pacific Ocean plays a vital role in promoting economic prosperity and serves as a conduit for 90 percent of world trade. APEC economies account for over 80 percent of global aquaculture production and more than 60 percent of capture fisheries production. APEC Ministers Responsible for Ocean-Related Issues met in August to discuss the establishment of a more integrated, sustainable, inclusive and mutually beneficial partnership through ocean cooperation among APEC members, in 4 priority areas: (1) coastal and marine ecosystem conservation and disaster resilience; (2) the role of the ocean on food security and food-related trade; (3) marine science, technology and innovation; and (4) Blue Economy.

In addition, the United States is working with our TPP partners to secure first-ever commitments in a trade agreement to combat illegal fishing and promote sustainable fisheries management practices across the region. The United States is also leading action-oriented, cross-fora projects and initiatives such as the formation of the Virtual Working Group on Marine Debris to target marine debris in the APEC region, and many other U.S.-led projects. We are also finalizing a draft of the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) Food Security Action Plan, leading a study on post-harvest loss in fisheries with the World Fish Organization, and leading a project on assessing the economic value of green infrastructure in coastal ecosystems for disaster risk resilience, among other examples.

Mining

APEC Ministers met in 2014 to discuss the significance of sustainable development in mining.  They called on all APEC economies to take necessary domestic measures to meet the requirements of the Convention. The Minamata Convention on Mercury has implications for the protection of human health and the environment, as it calls for parties to control and reduce mercury emissions to the air from a number of industrial sources, reduce or eliminate the use of mercury in certain products and industrial processes as well as in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), and reduce the supply of mercury. The ministers also recognized the important role of corporate social responsibility efforts towards establishing responsible mining practices.

Chemical Health and Safety

The United States works closely with health and safety agencies throughout the APEC region to enhance cooperation on chemical health and safety regulations that increase protection for consumers, employees, and the environment, while facilitating trade by minimizing duplication of effort and increasing transparency.

Electric Vehicles

The United States is leading work for APEC economies to take new actions to promote the widespread usage of electric vehicles through aligning existing regulations and basing new regulations on international standards. Such actions would ensure that the new wave of environmentally friendly, technologically advanced electric vehicles are safe and convenient to use in order to gain greater acceptance by consumers and a bigger share of the global automotive marketplace. A centerpiece of these actions is a commitment to interoperability of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and communications protocols, so as to create greater opportunities for trade and investment in this area.  These efforts align with past APEC commitments to reduce fossil fuel consumption, reduce pollution, and grow renewable sources of energy as key environmental objectives.

Environmental Goods

During its 2011 APEC host year, the United States secured a groundbreaking Leaders commitment to reduce tariffs on environmental goods to five percent or less by the end of 2015.  In 2012, APEC economies succeeded in developing a list of 54 environmental goods, such as water treatment filters, gas and wind turbines, and solar water heaters, which would be subject to this tariff reduction commitment.

As part of their efforts to implement this commitment, economies will submit implementation plans by the Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting in early spring next year. The United States has continued to lead on this issue in APEC and is providing technical assistance to help economies implement their environmental goods commitments effectively.  The 2011 Leaders commitment on environmental goods provided the impetus for the United States and several other APEC economies, including China, to launch the WTO Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) negotiations in July 2014, which will build on this Leaders commitment.

Reducing Aviation Emissions

APEC Leaders have stressed the importance of integrating Transportation and Energy ministerial agendas, and the United States-led APEC Air Traffic Management (ATM) Emissions Reduction technical cooperation initiative -endorsed by APEC’s Transportation and Energy Working Groups - responds to their mandate.  Under this initiative, the United States plans to partner with the civil aviation authorities of Vietnam and the Philippines on a technical cooperation effort to analyze how advanced air traffic management technologies and practices can improve the efficiency of airline operations and reduce aviation emissions and fuel consumption within these two member economies and later share best practices with all APEC members through a technical workshop in 2015.  The project will also support the commitment by APEC’s Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) to achieve an APEC-wide target of a 10 percent improvement in supply-chain performance by 2015, in terms of reductions in transport sector time and cost.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: APEC Efforts to Support Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Recovery, and Resilience

In recent years, the Asia-Pacific region has endured a series of devastating natural disasters–including the China Yunnan Earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan, the 2011 Southeast Asia floods, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the 2010 Chile Earthquake, to name a few.  APEC’s 21 member economies account for approximately 58 percent of world GDP, 52 percent of the earth's surface area, and 59 percent of the world's population – yet they experience over 70 percent of the world’s natural disasters.  These disasters take a terrible toll in lives lost and damage caused.  The economic costs of natural disasters, both at the local and national levels, can be staggering as trade decreases, supply chains are disrupted and critical infrastructure is destroyed.  In 2013 alone, the top five major disasters in the region accounted for nearly $100 billion in economic damage and resulted in over 19,000 deaths.

The international community must sustain its commitment to humanitarian response, while at the same time being resilient and quickly addressing the transition from relief to recovery.

To protect businesses, trade, economic growth, and communities from disruptions, President Obama, together with President Xi of China and the other APEC Leaders, agreed to begin developing  measures to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters:

  • Support effective public donation practices, efficient supply chain and relief operations, and speedier economic recovery in disaster-affected areas by adopting the APEC Guidelines on Appropriate Donationsthat stress four principles: monetary contributions to established relief agencies or formal disaster appeals are always the most productive public response to disasters; before items other than cash are collected, donors should confirm that there is a need; transportation is expensive and requires preplanning; and public volunteer opportunities are extremely limited and therefore those looking to volunteer should closely coordinate with relief agencies assisting with the response.
  • Facilitate the movement of emergency response personnel across borders and permit the importation, free of duty or restriction, for goods and supplies for humanitarian and emergency response efforts after disasters.
  • Operationalize a trade recovery communications mechanism, in collaboration with the World Customs Organization, to facilitate information exchange between economy governments and the private sector after a disaster.  Establishing the system and providing technical assistance to developing economies significantly improves public and private sector cargo transport coordination, including humanitarian materials, maximizing to the extent practicable the use of constrained transport systems.
  • Recognize the importance of assessing the economic value of coastal ecosystems for disaster risk reduction, response, recovery and resilience through support of an APEC funded project, led by the United States.  The economic value of goods and services from the world’s coastal ecosystems has increasingly been recognized, however it is difficult for decision makers to factor the economic benefits of coastal ecosystems on regional, national, and local levels, into policy and management decisions.  The outcome of this study will be an assessment of the potential economic value that green infrastructure in coastal ecosystems provides for disaster risk reduction and response and coastal resilience in the APEC region.
  • Welcome efforts to increase the resiliency of our supply chains by working diligently through all APEC fora to include the Seven Principles of Supply Chain Resilience in all relevant activities and programs.  The United States continues to lead APEC’s efforts to implement a five year plan to improve the resilience of the supply chain throughout the region.  In 2015, the United States will host a workshop in the Philippines to offer best practices in order to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities based on their risks and hazards.  This economy-level workshop is planned to be replicated in additional economies in subsequent years.  APEC will also begin to conduct APEC-wide workshops on the Seven Principles of Supply Chain Resilience.  In 2015 the workshop will focus on earthquake and other hazard mapping and transportation infrastructure.
  • Develop emergency response mechanisms to increase resiliency of our energy infrastructure to natural disasters and climate change.  APEC economies will expand collaborative efforts to develop emergency response mechanisms, strengthen energy infrastructure, and increase timely, relevant, and reliable data that can address both safety as well as short-term disruptions in energy supplies after disasters.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

FACT SHEET: 22nd Annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting

President Barack Obama met with Leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on the shores of Lake Yanqi in Beijing to adopt a set of ambitious initiatives under this year’s theme of “Shaping the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership.”

Now in its 25th year, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum has contributed to a tremendous rise in economic prosperity that directly benefits the almost 40 percent of the global population that live in APEC economies.  Since APEC’s establishment in 1989, members have seen a ten percent reduction in their average applied tariff rate, trade grow to $20 trillion, and their collective GDP rise to 58 percent of the global total.

The United States worked at APEC this year to speed the flow of goods across borders, to promote structural reforms that support growth, and to develop policies that encourage investment in infrastructure.  We have also worked with member economies to drive towards completion of the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement and advance the Environmental Goods Agreement, both of which emerged from APEC.

Under the chairmanship of Chinese President Xi Jinping, APEC Leaders committed to a number of concrete actions under China's broad priorities of:  1) advancing regional economic integration; 2) promoting innovative development, economic reform, and growth; and 3) strengthening comprehensive connectivity and infrastructure development. The United States and APEC members support these goals through pursuing free and open trade, establishing regional scholarships, increasing capacity in disaster preparedness, and many other areas of cooperation.

Advancing Regional Economic Integration 

APEC Leaders advanced trade and investment liberalization by:

  • Accelerating and bolstering economy-level capacity building and technical assistance to achieve the APEC-wide goal of a 10 percent improvement in supply chain performance by 2015 and assist economies with the implementation of their WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement commitments.
  • Affirming that APEC members will meet the ground-breaking APEC commitment to reduce tariffs to five percent or less by 2015 on the basis of the 54 products in the APEC List of Environmental Goods; submitting plans for how economies should implement that commitment by the time of the 2015 Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting in early spring; and launching new work to address non-tariff measures that impact trade in environmental goods and services.
  • Raising awareness about the negative economic consequences of localization barriers to trade, especially regarding their impact on global value chains (GVCs).
  • Fostering greater regulatory transparency by endorsing a set of actions and a capacity building program on conducting public consultations on proposed regulations through information technology and the Internet.
  • Promoting widespread use of environmentally-friendly electric vehicles (EVs) in the region through greater alignment of regulations concerning vehicle charging, using international standards as the basis for new regulations, establishing a EVs Interoperability and Research Center by the end of 2015.
  • Ensuring APEC remains a contributor to the realization of APEC’s long-term objective of realizing a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, and that APEC supports the participation of member economies in ongoing regional undertakings.
  • Raising awareness about the importance of trade secrets protection and enforcement to innovation, foreign direct investment, and commercialization of research and development. Building on this work in 2015.
  • Eliminating unnecessary export certification for wine by 2018 based on the recognition that wine is a low risk food product;
  • Reiterating, in recognition of the threat terrorism continues to pose in the Asia-Pacific region, their commitment to make regional commerce more secure, efficient, and resilient through capacity building initiatives that support secure supply chains, travel, finance and infrastructure.

Promoting Innovative Development, Economic Reform, and Growth

Recognizing that prosperity in the region depends on an environment that supports trade and investment, APEC Leaders agreed to:

  • Establish the APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard to monitor progress in APEC economies on key issues related to women’s economic empowerment, and to serve as a reference for future capacity building and evidence-based policy discussions.
  • Develop a region-wide ecosystem to empower women entrepreneurs to 1) start and grow businesses; 2) increase their access to global supply chains; and 3) link them to existing support services and associations ultimately creating a Women’s Entrepreneurship in APEC (WE-APEC) network.
  • Reducing wasteful consumption of fossil fuels by expanding the number of APEC economies volunteering to undergo fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews.  Peru completed and New Zealand initiated reviews this year and the Philippines will undertake a review in 2015.
  • Establish an ambitious goal of doubling the share of renewable energy in the region’s energy mix by 2030 with collaborative projects to support this goal.
  • Continue work on reducing energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035 with the next tranche of collaborative projects to support progress toward this goal.
  • Address the pervasive problem of corruption in the region by adopting APEC Principles on the Prevention of Bribery and Enforcement of Anti-bribery Laws and the General Elements of Effective Voluntary Corporate Compliance Programs; enhancing cooperation across borders with the establishment of an APEC anti-corruption law enforcement network; and sharing best practices and case studies.
  • Improve food security by undertaking research and capacity building to reduce post-harvest loss.
  • Liberalize and facilitate agricultural trade and investment by recognizing the role of public-private partnerships in investment and reaffirm commitments against protectionism and export restrictions.
  • Improve food safety in the APEC region, through work on risk-based inspections, allergen management, laboratory capacity building, and regulatory cooperation the Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) and its Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN).
  • Promote people’s health and well-being through the “Healthy APEC 2020” initiative by means of a comprehensive whole-of-society approach to health security, growth and development of the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Jointly tackle pandemic disease, including the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
  • Expand efforts to combat wildlife trafficking by reducing demand for illegally traded wildlife and wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement cooperation, and reaffirmed their commitment to treat wildlife-related crimes seriously.
  • Reduce mercury pollution by encouraging APEC economies to take the necessary domestic measures to meet the requirements of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
  • Support effective public donations practices, efficient supply chain and relief operations, and speedier economic recovery in disaster-affected areas by adopting the APEC Guidelines for Appropriate Donations in Times of Disasters.
  • Operationalize a regional trade recovery communications mechanism for customs officials to utilize during large transportation disruptions.

Strengthening Comprehensive Connectivity And Infrastructure Development 

The APEC Business Travel Card has long been touted as one of APEC’s major successes in connecting the region by facilitating business travel.  This year, the United States began issuing APEC Business Travel Cards to eligible U.S. citizens, enabling them to access the priority immigration processing APEC lanes in airports of foreign participating APEC economies.

In Beijing, Leaders took steps to increase connectivity across borders and to lay the groundwork for increased infrastructure development by:

  • Adopting the APEC Connectivity Blueprint, aimed at strengthening physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity by taking agreed actions and meeting agreed targets, with the objective of achieving a seamless and comprehensively connected Asia-Pacific.
  • Launching an APEC scholarship and internship initiative, to strengthen regional ties, build people-to-people ties, and promote economic development.
  • Promoting regional science and technology collaboration through the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research, and Education (ASPIRE) by recognizing talented, accomplished young scientists who cooperate with scientists from other APEC member economies.
  • Announcing the goal of doubling the number of tourists to 800 million among APEC members by 2025.
  • Developing greater capability among APEC economies to advance public-private partnerships in infrastructure investment, including through adoption of an Implementation Roadmap, in order to attract private sector capital and promote market-based investment.

Extensive Economic Engagement

APEC member economies account for approximately 40 percent of the world's population, approximately 58 percent of world GDP and about 44 percent of world trade.

APEC economies represent a significant and growing market for U.S. goods and services. In 2013, U.S. goods and services trade with APEC economies totaled $2.5 trillion, accounting for 61.5% of overall U.S. exports in 2013. According to the Department of Commerce, U.S. goods exports supported an estimated 4.3 million jobs in 2013.

The five largest U.S. export markets among APEC economies are: Canada ($301.6 billion), Mexico ($226.1 billion), China ($121.7 billion), Japan ($65.2 billion), and Hong Kong ($42.3 billion). The top categories of exports to APEC economies in 2013 were: Machinery ($139.6 billion), Electrical Machinery ($118.9 billion), Vehicles ($96.3 billion), Mineral Fuel (oil) ($70.7 billion), and Aircraft ($53.0 billion). U.S. exports of agricultural products to APEC economies totaled $104.7 billion in 2013.  Leading categories include soybeans ($18.7 billion), pork and pork products ($5.6 billion), wheat ($5.5 billion), beef and beef products ($5.4 billion), and corn ($5.2 billion).

U.S. trade in services with APEC economies totaled $376 billion in 2012 (latest data available). The U.S. services trade surplus with APEC countries was $114 billion in 2012.  U.S. exports of private commercial services (i.e., excluding military and government) to APEC were $244.9 in 2012 (latest data available), up 6.9% ($15.7 billion) from 2011, and up 120% since 2002.

The United States also has a strong investment relationship with APEC economies.  U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in the APEC economies (stock) totaled $1.2 trillion in 2013, up 6.4% from 2012. U.S. direct investment in APEC economies is concentrated in the nonbank holding companies, manufacturing, and finance/insurance sectors.  APEC economies’ FDI in the United States (stock) was $723.9 billion in 2013, up 10.8% from 2012.   Direct investment by APEC economies in the U.S. is led by the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and finance/insurance sectors.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 11, 2014

2014 Leaders' Declaration

The 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration - Beijing Agenda for an Integrated, Innovative and Interconnected Asia-Pacific

1． We, the APEC Leaders, gathered by Yanqi Lake in Beijing for the 22nd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. Under the theme of “Shaping the Future through Asia-Pacific Partnership”, we held substantial discussions on the priorities of advancing regional economic integration, promoting innovative development, economic reform and growth, and strengthening comprehensive connectivity and infrastructure development with a view to expanding and deepening Asia-Pacific regional economic cooperation, and attaining peace, stability, development and common prosperity of the Asia-Pacific.

2．The Asia-Pacific region has experienced a quarter of a century’s growth and development. APEC has not only made significant contributions to the region’s economic development, social progress and improvement of people’s livelihoods, but has also epitomized the great changes and rising strategic position of the Asia-Pacific. Through its unique approach featuring voluntary action, consensus, flexibility and pragmatism, APEC has successfully established a sound regional economic cooperation framework among member economies with remarkable diversity and at different stages of development. Adhering to the spirit of unity, mutual respect and trust, mutual assistance and win-win cooperation, we have been working to narrow the development gap among ourselves and have consistently promoted the robust, sustainable, balanced, inclusive and secure growth in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

3．After years of rapid development, the Asia-Pacific has become the most dynamic region of the world, and has never been as important as it is today in the global landscape. At present, the Asia-Pacific maintains a strong momentum of growth; it possesses an enormous potential and has a bright future. Yet it is also faced with risks and challenges.

4．We are at an important historical moment of building on past achievements and striving for new progress. We are committed to working together to shape the future through Asia-Pacific partnership, building an open economy in the Asia-Pacific featuring innovative development, interconnected growth, and shared interests, and consolidating the leading role of the Asia-Pacific in the world economy, with a goal of opening up new prospects for future cooperation and achieving common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

5．To achieve the above-mentioned goals, we pledge to take the following actions:

I.  Advancing Regional Economic Integration

Pursuing Free and Open Trade and Investment

6．We reiterate the value, centrality and primacy of the multilateral trading system in promoting trade expansion, economic growth, job creation and sustainable development. We stand firmly together to strengthen the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system as embodied in the WTO.

7．We express our grave concern regarding the impasse in the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which has resulted in stalemate and uncertainties over other Bali decisions. These developments have affected the credibility of the WTO negotiating function. In finding solutions to the implementation of the Bali decisions, APEC will exert creative leadership and energy together with all WTO members in unlocking this impasse, putting all Bali decisions back on track, and proceeding with the formulation of Post-Bali Work Program, as a key stepping stone to concluding the Doha Round.

8．We reaffirm our pledges against all forms of protectionism. We extend our standstill commitment through the end of 2018 and reaffirm our commitment to roll back protectionist and trade-distorting measures. We remain committed to exercise maximum restraint in implementing measures that may be consistent with WTO provisions but have a significant protectionist effect, and to promptly rectifying such measures, where implemented.

9．We acknowledge that bilateral, regional and plurilateral trade agreements can play an important role in complementing global trade liberalization initiatives. We will continue to work together to ensure that they contribute to strengthening the multilateral trading system. We underscore the importance of the negotiations to expand the product coverage of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). A final ITA expansion outcome should be commercially significant, credible, pragmatic, balanced, and reflective of the dynamic technological developments in the information technology sector over the last 17 years, and contribute to the multilateral trading system. We welcome APEC’s leadership in advancing the negotiations and call for swift resumption and conclusion of plurilateral negotiations in Geneva. We welcome the launch of negotiations on Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) in July 2014 in Geneva. We encourage participants of the above initiatives to seek expanded memberships.

10．We welcome the significant progress made toward achieving the Bogor Goals. We will make every effort to achieve the Bogor Goals by 2020. We also welcome the biennial Bogor Goals review this year. We urge all economies, particularly developed ones to deeply consider the conclusions of the Report on APEC's 2010 Economies' Progress towards the Bogor Goals and the 2012 and 2014 Bogor Goals Progress Report, and to take more concrete actions towards attaining the Bogor Goals.

11．Recognizing APEC has a critical role to play in shaping and nurturing regional economic integration, we agree that APEC should make more important and meaningful contributions as an incubator to translate the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) from a vision to reality. We reaffirm our commitment to the eventual FTAAP as a major instrument to further APEC's regional economic integration agenda.

12．In this regard, we decide to kick off and advance the process in a comprehensive and systematic manner towards the eventual realization of the FTAAP, and endorse the Beijing Roadmap for APEC’s Contribution to the Realization of the FTAAP (Annex A). Through the implementation of this Roadmap, we decide to accelerate our efforts on realizing the FTAAP on the basis of the conclusion of the ongoing pathways, and affirm our commitment to the eventual realization of the FTAAP as early as possible by building on ongoing regional undertakings, which will contribute significantly to regional economic integration, sustained growth and common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. We instruct Ministers and officials to undertake the specific actions and report the outcomes to track the achievements.

13．We welcome the establishment of a Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) Friends of the Chair Group on Strengthening Regional Economic Integration (REI) and Advancing FTAAP, and urge the Friends of the Chair Group to continue its work. We agree to launch a collective strategic study on issues related to the realization of the FTAAP, and instruct officials to undertake the study, consult stakeholders and report the result by the end of 2016.

14．We endorse the establishment of an APEC Information Sharing Mechanism on RTAs/FTAs. We highly commend the work on the implementation of the Action Plan Framework on Capacity Building Needs Initiatives (CBNI), and endorse the Action Plan Framework of the 2nd CBNI. We instruct officials to design targeted and tailor-made capacity building activities to narrow the gap of the capacities of APEC economies to facilitate the eventual realization of the FTAAP.

15．In addition to the above, we reaffirm the role of APEC in addressing next generation trade and investment issues and sectoral initiatives, and agree to accelerate “at the border” trade liberalization and facilitation efforts, improve the business environment “behind the border”, and enhance regional connectivity “across the border” to accumulate more building blocks for the realization of the FTAAP. Therefore, we:

--- reaffirm our commitment to reduce applied tariffs to five percent or less by the end of 2015 on the list of environmental goods that we endorsed in 2012 in Vladivostok. We call upon all economies to redouble their efforts in order to realize the economic and environmental benefits. We will instruct officials to report progress in achieving this ground-breaking commitment at our meeting next year in the Philippines. We welcome the work on capacity building on Environmental Goods (EGs) commitment implementation;

--- welcome the inaugural meeting of the APEC Public Private Partnership on Environmental Goods and Services (PPEGS) on renewable and clean energy trade and investment, and endorse the APEC Statement on Promoting Renewable and Clean Energy (RCE) Trade and Investment;

--- welcome the progress onexploring products which could contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth as part of our concrete commitment to rural development and poverty alleviation;

--- endorse the Action Agenda on Promoting Infrastructure Investment through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and instruct officials to take concrete actions to strengthen cooperation on PPP to promote more robust and sustainable infrastructure investment and development in the APEC region;

--- welcome the Case Studies on Sustainable Investment in the APEC Region and encourage officials to consider and draw experience and good practices from the nominated cases to promote sustainable cross-border investment;

--- endorse the APEC Cross Border E-Commerce Innovation and Development Initiative and encourage economies to designate or establish Research Centers of Cross-border E-commerce Innovation and Development on a voluntary basis;

--- recognize that the effective protection and enforcement of IPR including trade secrets incentivizes and facilitates innovation and foreign direct investment and the dissemination of technology through licensing and partnerships;

--- endorse the APEC Action Agenda on Advertising Standards and Practice Development to promote alignment of advertising standards and reduce the cost of doing business across the region;

--- endorse the Asia-Pacific Region Automotive Industry Sustainable Development Declaration and welcome the outcomes of the 2014 APEC Regulatory Cooperation Advancement Mechanism (ARCAM) Dialogue on Electric Vehicle Standards. We welcome the APEC Actions to Promote the Widespread Usage of Electric Vehicles.

Advancing Global Value Chain Development and Supply Chain Connectivity

16．Recognizing that Global Value Chains (GVCs) have become a dominant feature of the global economy and offer new prospects for growth, competitiveness and job creation for APEC economies at all levels of development, we endorse the APEC Strategic Blueprint for Promoting Global Value Chain Development and Cooperation (Annex B). We welcome the progress made in the measurement of Trade in Value Added (TiVA), services, SMEs and GVCs resilience, etc., and instruct officials to advance the work through the CTI Friends of the Chair Group on GVC to put forward new initiatives under the Strategic Blueprint in 2015 and beyond.

17．We endorse the Strategic Framework on Measurement of APEC TiVA under GVCs and the Action Plan on this Strategic Framework. We instruct the newly-formed technical group to work closely with the WTO, OECD, the World Bank, UNCTAD and other related international organizations, with an aim to complete the construction of the APEC TiVA Database by 2018.

18．We endorse the Terms of Reference of Promoting SME’s Integration into GVCs, and welcome the launch of the related activities. We instruct officials to make efforts in advancing this work.

19．We welcome the commitment of APEC economies to move forward with the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, including the notification by many APEC developing economies of their category A TFA obligations. We welcome, as well, the progress this year in improving the performance of APEC supply chains through targeted, focused capacity building and technical assistance. In this regard, we applaud the establishment of the APEC Alliance for Supply Chain Connectivity, which will contribute to our goal in achieving a ten percent improvement of supply chain performance by the end of 2015 and our broader supply chain connectivity objectives. We encourage economies to increase the resources of the APEC Supply Chain Connectivity Sub-Fund to ensure that our capacity building and technical assistance projects succeed to meet our ten percent performance improvement goal and to further our trade facilitation objectives. 

20．We agree to establish the Asia-Pacific Model E-port Network (APMEN) and welcome the first batch of APEC Model E-ports nominated by the APEC economies. We endorse the Terms of Reference of the APMEN and agree to set up the APMEN operational center in the Shanghai Model E-port, and instruct officials to make further efforts to contribute to regional trade facilitation and supply chain connectivity.

21．We positively value the APEC High-level Roundtable on Green Development and its declaration, and agree to establish the APEC Cooperation Network on Green Supply Chain. We endorse the establishment of the first pilot center of APEC Cooperation Network on Green Supply Chain in Tianjin, China, and encourage other economics to establish the pilot centers and advance related work actively.

22．We endorse the APEC Customs 3M (Mutual Recognition of Control, Mutual Assistance of Enforcement and Mutual Sharing of Information) Strategic Framework. We instruct officials to further simplify and coordinate APEC customs procedures based on the 3M Framework to facilitate the development of regional trade. We encourage APEC members’ customs authorities to continue strengthening cooperation and coordination in pursuit of the 3M vision, to push forward comprehensive connectivity and make greater contributions to the sustainable development of trade and regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

23．We recognize that the use of standardized codes will enable information about traded goods to be easily understood and shared by all parties. We therefore encourage APEC economies to work with the private sector to promote further cooperation on global data standards and their wider use by developing pilot projects. 

24．We welcome the initiative on manufacturing related services in supply chains/value chains as a next generation trade and investment issue, and instruct officials to develop a plan of action in 2015.

Strengthening Economic and Technical Cooperation

25．We endorse the APEC Strategic Plan on Capacity Building to Promote Trade and Investment Agenda which adopts a strategic, goal-oriented and multi-year approach. We instruct officials to take the Strategic Plan as a guide to develop and implement more tailor-made capacity building programs that contribute to the core trade and investment liberalization and facilitation agenda of APEC.

26．We encourage economies, particularly developed economies, to provide more contributions to ECOTECH and capacity building, to achieve our goal of bridging development gaps, and help member economies to meet their APEC commitments and their economic growth objectives.

27．We welcome the initiative to upgrade the Asia Pacific Finance and Development Center (AFDC) to the Asia Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI).

II. Promoting Innovative Development, Economic Reform and Growth

28．We realize that the prospects for the shared prosperity of APEC will depend on innovative development, economic reform and growth in the region, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing. We recognize that the Asia-Pacific region is at a crucial stage of economic transformation. We are committed to accelerating the pace of reform and innovation, and exploring new growth areas with the goal of bolstering the position of the Asia-Pacific as an engine for world economic growth. We agree to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination with a view to forging policy synergy, and creating a sound policy environment for the robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive economic growth in the region.

29．We endorse the APEC Accord on Innovative Development, Economic Reform and Growth (Annex C) which identifies Economic Reform, New Economy, Innovative Growth, Inclusive Support and Urbanization as the five pillars for promoting experience sharing, policy dialogue, capacity building and practical cooperation.

Economic Reform

30．To advance APEC’s economic reform agenda, we agree to hold the 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Structural Reform in 2015. Recognizing that many APEC developing economies are facing the challenge of the Middle-Income Trap (MIT), we agree to incorporate the issue of overcoming the MIT into the work program of the APEC Economic Committee.

31．To meet our objective of strengthening the implementation of good regulatory practices, we will further enhance communication, exchanges, and sharing of experiences, and foster anopen and transparentregulatory environment in our economies, according to individual economies’ needs and circumstances. We will endeavor to take new actions through the use of information technology and the Internet to improve our conduct of public consultations on proposed regulations.

32．We recognize the role of internationally recognized private international law instruments such as the Hague Conventions in facilitating cross-border trade and investment, enhancing ease of doing business, and fostering effective enforcement of contracts and efficient settlement of business disputes. We encourage wider use of these instruments which would contribute to APEC’s regional integration, connectivity and structural reform agenda.

New Economy

33．We recognize that New Economy represents the trend of economic growth and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. We support the efforts to promote economic restructuring and upgrading in traditional industries, explore new and promising economic growth areas such as the Green Economy, the Blue Economy, and the Internet Economy, and promote green, circular, low-carbon and energy-efficient development.

34．We are encouraged by the progress of APEC's ocean-related cooperation and welcome the Xiamen Declaration issued at the 4th APEC Oceans Ministerial Meeting this year, and instruct our Ministers and officials to fully implement the Declaration. We acknowledge the Xiamen Declaration’s statement on the Blue Economy. We welcome the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Report.  We encourage the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group to work with APEC fora to advance Blue Economy cooperation.

35．We recognize the role of the Internet Economy in promoting innovative development and empowering economic participation. We endorse the APEC Initiative of Cooperation to Promote the Internet Economy and instruct Ministers and officials to discuss the Internet Economy further, put forward proposals for actions, promote member economies’ cooperation on developing the Internet Economy and facilitate technological and policy exchanges among member economies, taking into account the need to bridge the digital divide.

36．We welcome the Beijing Declaration of the 2014 APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting. We welcome the establishment of the APEC Sustainable Energy Center in China. We recognize the importance of promoting diversified energy supplies, and market-based competition and pricing mechanisms that reflect demand and supply fundamentals as appropriate to each economy. We encourage member economies to take actions to eliminate trade protection and restrictive measures that may impede progress in renewable energy technologies and development of this sector, and we endorse the Energy Ministers’ aspirational goal to double the share of renewables including in power generation by 2030 in APEC’s energy mix. We affirm our commitment to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption while still providing essential energy services. We acknowledge Peru and New Zealand for initiating voluntary peer reviews in 2014 of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that cause wasteful consumption and sharing their best practices, and welcome the commitment from the Philippines to undergo a peer review in 2015. We encourage innovation, competition and cooperation to promote a sound and sustainable energy sector in the Asia-Pacific and to ensure its energy security, economic growth, poverty eradication and an appropriate response to climate change.

37．We emphasize the importance of efforts to ensure sustainable development in mining, including the development, processing, utilization, investment and trade in minerals, metals and related products and welcome Ministers' views recognizing the important role of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

38．We will continue our efforts to protect forest resources, combat illegal logging and associated trade, promote sustainable forest management, and work with relevant organizations, including the Asia-Pacific Network on Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet), to ensure the achievement of the aspirational goal on forests in the Sydney Declaration.

39．We commit to continue our efforts in combating wildlife trafficking. We will take steps to combat wildlife trafficking by enhancing international cooperation through Wildlife Enforcement Networks (WENs) and other existing mechanisms, reducing the supply of and demand for illegally traded wildlife, increasing public awareness and education related to wildlife trafficking and its impacts, and treating wildlife trafficking crimes seriously.

Innovative Growth

40．We recognize innovation as an important lever for economic growth and structural reform. We endorse the initiative on Toward Innovation-Driven Development. We commit to foster a pragmatic, efficient and vigorous partnership on science, technology and innovation. We agree to strengthen collaboration amongst government, academia, and private sector stakeholders to build science capacity, to promote an enabling environment for innovation and including by establishing training centers for the commercialization of research, and to enhance regional science and technology connectivity, with respect for intellectual property rights and trade secrets. 

41．We welcome the Nanjing Declaration on Promoting SMEs Innovative Development. We commit to strengthen our support, and provide an enabling environment for SMEs in innovation activities. We welcome efforts to strengthen SMEs' cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, involve SMEs in APEC production and supply chains, promote ethical business practices, as well as to empower their capacity to operate in an international market. We welcome member economies’ joint efforts and contribution to promote the APEC Accelerator Network and to invest in the early stage development of innovative SMEs.

Inclusive support

42．We recognize that inclusive support is essential to maintain growth and to deal with risks and potential fallout of reform, with an aim to provide a solid foundation for economic growth and to address the needs of vulnerable groups. We welcome the outcomes of the 6th Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting and the Action Plan (2015-2018) on Promoting Quality Employment and Strengthening People-to-People Connectivity through Human Resources Development. We encourage APEC economies to give priority to stabilizing and expanding employment, implementing macroeconomic policies in favor of job creation, and strengthening capacity building for human resources development, vocational skills development and skill training for youth. We commend the 10-year achievement of the APEC Digital Opportunity Center initiative through our joint efforts and cooperation in bridging digital divides, strengthening human resource development and creating digital opportunities throughout the APEC region.

43．We recognize the pivotal role of women in the development and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific, and are committed to taking concrete policies and innovative measures to further enhance women’s economic empowerment and their access to markets and ICT technology, eliminate all barriers that hinder women’s economic participation, and ensure women’s equal opportunities, participation and benefit in innovative development, economic reform and growth. We welcome the recommendations from the Women and the Economy Forum, and commit to promote women entrepreneurship. We recognize the importance of data to measure progress in reducing barriers to women’s economic participation, and we welcome the establishment of the APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard as a tool to inform policy discussions. We support women's leadership and recognize the importance of women’s entrepreneurship support services and networks. We encourage the formal development of an APEC-wide women’s entrepreneurship network to empower women entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses and increase their access to domestic and international markets.

44．We welcome recommendations from the 4th High Level Meeting on Health and the Economy and endorse the “Healthy Asia-Pacific 2020” initiative, which aims to achieve sustainable and high-performing health systems that will ensure people's health, including physical and mental well-being, through the whole life-course by means of a whole-of-government, and whole-of-society approach with the collaboration of the entire Asia-Pacific region.

45．We commit to jointly tackle pandemic diseases, terrorism, natural disasters, climate change and other global challenges. In confronting the current Ebola Virus Disease epidemic, we are determined to intensify our cooperation and work shoulder to shoulder with African nations to help them effectively end this epidemic and prevent, detect, manage and respond to future outbreaks. We will continue to assist people in affected areas to overcome this crisis and build back their economies so we can win the battle against the disease.

46．We endorse the Beijing Declaration on APEC Food Security issued at the Third APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security. We welcome APEC Action Plan for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, the APEC Food Security Business Plan (2014-2020), and the APEC Food Security Roadmap toward 2020 (2014 version) and the Action Plan to Enhance Connectivity of APEC Food Standards and Safety Assurance.We note the G20’s work on food security in 2014. We call on APEC economies to seek common ground to build an open, inclusive, mutually-beneficial and all-win partnership for the long-term food security of the Asia-Pacific region. We will strengthen APEC agricultural science and technology innovation and cooperation to advance sustainable agricultural development and support sustainable fisheries.

47．We commend the ongoing efforts of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) and its Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN), which will help ensure the safety of food produced and traded in the APEC region by improving food safety regulatory systems, encouraging harmonization with international science-based standards, building capacity in areas that will facilitate trade, and enhancing communication and collaboration between industry and regulators to address emerging food safety issues. We welcome the APEC Food Safety Beijing Statement of the 2014 APEC High-Level Regulator Industry Dialogue on Food Safety.

48．We commend the strong resolve shown in fighting corruption, including through effective anti-corruption measures. We support the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and welcome the APEC Principles on the Prevention of Bribery and Enforcement of Anti-Bribery Laws, and APEC General Elements of Effective Voluntary Corporate Compliance Programs. We commit to work together against corruption and deny safe haven for corrupt officials and their illicitly-acquired assets. We are committed to strengthening cooperation and coordination on repatriation or extradition of corrupt officials as well as confiscation and recovery of corruption proceeds, and where appropriate, through the use of anti-corruption mechanisms and platforms such as the APEC Network of Anti-Corruption and Law Enforcement Agencies (ACT-NET).

49．We encourage further cooperation of member economies in disaster preparedness, risk reduction, response and post-disaster recovery, and cooperation in search and rescue, including through more robust networking among disaster management departments; following the APEC Guidelines on Appropriate Donations; improving supply chain resiliency; operationalizing the Trade Recovery Programme, reducing barriers to the movement of emergency responders and humanitarian relief across borders; increased data sharing; and application of science and technologies.

50．We reiterate our resolve to create a secure and resilient environment for economic activities and connectivity in the APEC region and continue concerted efforts to implement the APEC Consolidated Counter-Terrorism and Secure Trade Strategy.

Urbanization

51．We recognize that the Asia-Pacific is currently experiencing booming urbanization. We realize that sustained and healthy development of urbanization is conducive to promoting innovative growth and realizing robust, inclusive and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific.

52．We commend the constructive work undertaken by APEC this year in promoting urbanization cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, and endorse the APEC Cooperation Initiative for Jointly Establishing an Asia-Pacific Urbanization Partnership.

53．Recognizing the range of urbanization challenges and opportunities across APEC economies, we commit to collectively promote cooperation projects, and to further explore pathways to a new-type of urbanization and sustainable city development, featuring green, energy efficient, low-carbon and people-orientation.

III. Strengthening Comprehensive Connectivity and Infrastructure Development

54．We recognize that strengthening comprehensive connectivity and infrastructure development will help open up new sources of economic growth, promote cooperation and mutual assistance, and advance prosperity and the spirit of community in the Asia-Pacific region. We commend the achievements already made by APEC in connectivity and infrastructure development cooperation.

55．We endorse the APEC Connectivity Blueprint for 2015-2025 (Annex D). We are committed to implementing the APEC Connectivity Blueprint and achieving the overarching goal of strengthening physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity by taking agreed actions and meeting agreed targets by 2025, with the objective of achieving a seamless and comprehensively connected and integrated Asia Pacific.

56．We commit to solve the financing bottleneck of infrastructure development. We commend the work and progress accomplished under the APEC Finance Ministers' Process (FMP) in infrastructure investment and financing cooperation. We recognize, in particular, efforts in promoting PPP on Infrastructure, such as compiling demonstrative infrastructure PPP projects, advancing the work of the PPP Experts Advisory Panel, strengthening capacity building of Indonesia’s Pilot PPP Center, and carrying on capacity building project of PPP pilot demonstration and standard contract making. We welcome the Implementation Roadmap to Develop Successful Infrastructure PPP Projects in the APEC Region to guide APEC’s future work in this aspect. We welcome the establishment of the PPP Center in China as a center of excellence.

57． We encourage member economies to strengthen energy infrastructural development and connectivity, such as oil and natural gas pipelines and transmission networks, LNG terminals, smart grids and distributed energy systems on the basis of shared interest and mutual benefit.

58． We encourage all member economies to take effective measures to promote the mobility of business personnel, tourists, researchers, students and labor in the region.

59．We support initiatives and activities that further enhance the three dimensions of cross-border education cooperation found in the 2012 Leaders Declaration-- mobility of students, researchers, and providers. We applaud the work that has been accomplished this year, including the establishment of the APEC Higher Education Research Center (AHERC); contributions to the APEC scholarships and internships initiative, which will encourage people-to-people exchange in our region; and promotion of virtual academic mobility by leveraging internet-based resources and innovative learning practices.

60． We support the target set at the 8th APEC Tourism Ministers’ Meeting of   making efforts to receive 800 million international tourist arrivals in APEC economies by 2025.

61． We appreciate the initiatives which will greatly improve connectivity and infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, help resolve the bottleneck of financing in this field, and promote regional economic integration and the common development of the Asia-Pacific.

IV. Looking Forward

62．With joint efforts of member economies, the Asia-Pacific has become the most dynamic region of the world with enormous growth potential. Never before has the world been more in need of a harmonious, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific. We commit to working together to shape the future through Asia-Pacific partnership in the spirit of mutual respect and trust, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation, and making a contribution to the long-term development and common prosperity of the region.

63．We commit to carry forward APEC reform, improve its cooperation mechanisms, and implement ambitious goals and blueprints, with the aim of enabling APEC to play a more active coordinating and leading role in the Asia-Pacific.

64．We commend the constructive role of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in strengthening public-private partnership and promoting APEC cooperation in various fields.

65．We are committed to enhancing APEC synergy with other relevant international and regional cooperation organizations and fora through coordination and cooperation, as well as enabling APEC to play an increasingly important role in the global governance system.

66．We are satisfied with the positive, meaningful and fruitful achievements of this meeting and appreciate China’s tremendous and fruitful efforts to successfully host this meeting.

67．We are committed to supporting future hosts of APEC, including Peru, Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand who are to host APEC in the years of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.

68．We look forward to convening again during the Philippines’ hosting of APEC in 2015.