NEWS RELEASES

June 7, 2000 (3:55 p.m. EDT) No. 144

PETTIGREW ENDORSES APEC INITIATIVE

FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew today joined trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region in a renewed call for the launch of a broader round of WTO negotiations.

The call came at the close of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Trade Ministerial Meeting in Darwin, Australia. This marked the largest gathering of trade ministers since the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Seattle last December.

"APEC economies represent over half of world trade and production," said Mr. Pettigrew. "Many of them suffered in the Asian financial crisis, but they are now back on the path of economic growth -- largely due to their having maintained their openness to international trade and investment. They know from experience that this is in the best interests of their economies and societies."

Ministers endorsed a number of practical steps to enhance confidence building in multilateral trade. They include the launch of a major initiative to assist developing APEC economies to participate more fully in the benefits of trade; and an APEC-wide moratorium on customs duties on electronic commerce until the next WTO Ministerial Conference. Ministers also pressed for preparatory work to underpin future negotiations on industrial market access.

"Following Canada's suggestion, my colleagues and I have recommended deepening exploratory work on e-commerce in the WTO, with closer attention to cross-cutting horizontal questions," said Minister Pettigrew.

APEC is active in such trade facilitation areas as customs procedures and standards conformity assessment, and the Minister encouraged colleagues to look for additional ways to reduce business costs in the region through practical trade facilitation measures. Mr. Pettigrew joined his fellow ministers in reaffirming APEC's commitment to "Getting Results for Business" and announcing the creation of a new Web site, http://www.BizApec.com

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sylvie Bussières

Office of the Minister for International Trade

(613) 992-7332

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874