USCIB’s Project to Support the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies Transparency Initiative on Tariffs and Preferential Rules of Origin (APEC TITR)
With the proliferation of free trade agreements throughout the Asia-Pacific region, many companies find it increasingly difficult to take full advantage of lower trade barriers due to the lack of publicly available information on tariff rates and preferential rules of origin. The purpose of the APEC TITR is to address this problem. In that context, USCIB has proposed the creation of an APEC-wide database of customs information that would be accurate, up-to-date and easily accessible. We believe that business support is critical to the realization of this objective, and USCIB’s project is designed to generate and demonstrate this support, notably at the next APEC Summit, which will take place this November in Singapore.
At the July 21-22, 2009 meetings in Singapore, APEC trade ministers recognized that the lack of publicly available, accurate, and up-to-date tariff and preferential rules of origin (ROOs) information in the APEC region makes it difficult for economies to take full advantage of the significant amount of trade liberalization that has occurred in the region in recent years. In order to ensure that business has access to basic information on tariffs and preferential ROOs, APEC trade ministers endorsed the APEC Transparency Initiative on Tariffs and ROOs (TITR), and have instructed officials to provide up-to-date and accurate tariff and ROOs information, in English, and in a prominent and central location on their respective economy websites, for public access by the APEC Trade Ministers meeting in 2010, and to develop the APEC Website on Tariff and ROOs (Web TR) by the 2010 APEC Ministers Meeting. They have instructed officials to explore ways to expand this initiative, including through the publication of additional customs-related information.
USCIB’s project supports this initiative and works to advocate to other APEC governments on the merits of the initiative, and to garner the support of other APEC business communities, while collaborating with key business association partners, such as the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) and the U.S. ASEAN Business Council. USCIB also supports and manages the activities for the informal steering group of U.S. business members supporting this initiative and exploring ways to expand this initiative.
For more information, please contact: Kimberly McLaughlin, USCIB’s Consulting Director for APEC Affairs, 917-913-1254, kmclaughlin@uscib.org.
Informal business steering group members:
Laurie Goldman, Senior Manager, Worldwide Government Affairs and Public Policy, Levi Strauss
James Min, Vice President International Trade Affairs and Compliance, DHL
Tony Barone, Director Global Logistics Policy, Pfizer Inc.
Alex Parle, Vice President ABAC Relations, NCAPEC
Martin Hutagalung, Regional Director and Manager, US ASEAN Business Council
Related Documents
- APEC Trade Ministers Declaration July 21-22 endorsing initiative: http://www.apec.org/apec/ministerial_statements/sectoral_ministerial/trade/2009_trade.html
Meetings
- June 17, 2009 in Washington, DC.
- September 30, 2009 in Washington, DC.
- November 12, 2009 in Singapore (tbc). For more information contact Kim McLaughlin at kmclaughlin@uscib.org
Related Meetings and Links:
APEC CEO Summit 2009 Nov 12-14, 2009 in Singapore http://www.apec2009.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&catid=38
Recent USCIB International Affiliates Engagement with APEC
ICC urges expanding the ATA Carnet System to all APEC countries http://www.iccwbo.org/iccdccci/index.html
