The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to
leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region. It has 21 members from member
economies, which account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s population, approximately 55
percent of world GDP and about 44 percent of world trade.
The founding members were Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New
Zealand, the Philippines; Singapore, Thailand, and the United States. The other member countries joined
the forum later . Unlike the World Trade Organization or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC does not
require treaty obligations of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and
commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis
What Does APEC Do?
APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders. Members
facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; ensures more favorable business
climates behind the border; ensures aligning regulations and standards across the region.
The Objectives of APEC
To Sustain the growth and development of the region in this way, contributing to the growth and
development of the world economy.
To enhance the positive gains, both for the region and the world economy, resulting from increasing
economic interdependence,
Develop and strengthen the open multilateral trading system that will represent the interests of Asia-
Pacific and all other economies..
To reduce barriers to trade in goods and services and investment among participants in a manner
consistent with GATT principles.
Guiding Principles
The principle of mutual benefit, taking into account the differences in the stages of economic
development and in the socio-political systems, and giving due consideration to the needs of developing
economies.
A commitment to open dialogue and consensus-building, with equal respect for the views of all
participants.
Purpose and Goals
Promoting Regional Economic Integration and Trade ;Making it Easier to Trade Across Borders;
Making it Easier to do Business; Increasing Energy Efficiency and Renewables: Enhancing Social Equity
in the Region
In order to achieve these goals APEC have taken several measures:
APEC implements a wide variety of initiatives to help integrate the region’s economies and promote
trade while addressing sustainability and social equity.
Since 1989, APEC started to reduce trade barriers between members, harmonize standards and
regulations, and streamline customs procedures which have enabled goods to move more easily across
borders.
APEC launched its Ease of Doing Business Action Plan in 2009, with the goal of making it cheaper, easier
and faster to do business in the region. For example, APEC has expedited the time it takes for a company
to build a new factory or office building.
In addition to supporting small businesses, the APEC Digital Opportunity Center was established in
2004 .This center provided computer skills training to rural and urban communities. Over the last
decade, these Centers have trained over half a million people throughout the APEC region, and almost
half are female. Many men and women who received this digital training found jobs or started their own
businesses, improving livelihoods and incomes for their families.
Increasing Energy Efficiency and Renewables:
APEC helped urban planners develop low-carbon model town plans for a series of cities throughout the
Asia-Pacific. These cities are reducing their carbon footprint by adopting a set of carbon emission
reduction targets and energy efficient initiatives from solar panels to electric vehicles
A CHANGING REGION
In the 30 years since APEC was formed, the region’s economy has expanded very much . In real terms ,
the region’s economy grew from USD 23.5 trillion in 1990 to USD 66.2 trillion in 2018, an average of 3.7
percent per year.
This remarkable economic growth also led to rising average incomes in the region. Average per capita
GDP in APEC rose from USD 10,258 in 1990 to USD 22,000 in 2017, which means an average growth of
2.8 percent per year. APEC’s economic achievement has also contributed to a narrowing of the gap
between the region’s highest and lowest per capita GDP. In 1990, the highest per capita GDP in the
region was more than 58 times higher than the lowest; by 2017, this was down to 22 times
A key driver of APEC’s economic growth over the past three decades has been international trade. The
total value of APEC’s trade rose from USD 3.1 trillion in 1989 to USD 24.0 trillion in 2018, an average
growth rate of 7.1 percent .From 1989 to 2011, real trade growth outpaced GDP growth, save for a few
exceptions. However, since 2012, trade has started to be on the second place as as a key driver of
economic activity, being replaced by domestic consumption as the consistent engine of growth.
Trade performance
The implementation of tariffs and counter-measures covered a wide array of export products, effectively
raising production costs and reducing the volume of trade. The negative effect on trade performance is
evident in the APEC region, where growth in the value and volume of merchandise trade declined in
2018 compared to 2017 . Growth in the volume of merchandise exports was significantly down to 4.1
percent in 2018 after a strong recovery to 6.2 percent in 2017 from the level in 2016, while growth in
the value of merchandise exports also declined. The same downward trend is seen in the growth in
merchandise imports, in terms of both value and volume.
The APEC region posted a 7.0 percent growth in services exports in 2018, higher than the 6.7 percent
expansion in 2017 and a significant jump from the level in 2016 .Services imports also continued to grow
but at a decelerated pace of 6.1 percent in 2018 from 6.9 percent in 2017.
As with merchandise trade, the rest of the world consistently grew more than APEC in terms of total
services exports and imports for the period 2016‒2018. It is also noticeable that APEC’s share of total
trade-in-services incrementally went down during the same years
Exports
The top 5 U.S. export markets in the APEC economies for 2018 were: Canada ($299.8 billion), Mexico
($265.4 billion), China ($120.1 billion), Japan ($75.2 billion), and South Korea ($56.5 billion).
U.S. goods exports to APEC was 2018 were $1.0 trillion, up 6.1% ($59.0 billion) from 2017 and up 38%
from 2008. U.S. exports to APEC account for 61.9% of overall U.S. exports in 2018.
The top export categories in 2018 were: machinery ($149 billion), electrical machinery ($130 billion),
mineral fuels ($108 billion), vehicles ($96 billion), and aircraft ($60 billion).
U.S. domestic exports of agricultural products to APEC economies totaled $96.4 billion in 2018. Leading
categories include: soybeans ($9.7 billion), corn ($9.1 billion), beef and beef products ($7.6 billion), pork
and pork products ($5.8 billion), and prepared food ($4.6 billion).
U.S. exports of services to APEC were $320.2 billion in 2018, up 3.4% ($10.4 billion) from 2017, and up
67 percent from 2008.
Imports
The top 5 U.S. import suppliers from the APEC economies for 2018 were: China ($539.7 billion), Mexico
($346.1 billion), Canada ($318.8 billion), Japan ($142.4 billion), and South Korea ($74.3 billion).
U.S. goods imports from APEC economies totaled $1.7 trillion in 2018, up 7.4% ($118.2) from 2017, and
up 33% from 2008. U.S. imports from APEC for 67.2% of overall U.S. imports in 2018.
The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2018 were: electrical machinery ($324 billion), machinery
($285 billion), vehicles ($238 billion), mineral fuels ($119 billion), and furniture and bedding ($60 billion).
U.S. imports for consumption of agricultural products from APEC economies totaled $80.2 billion in
2018. Leading categories include: fresh fruit ($9.2 billion), fresh vegetables ($7.9 billion), snack foods
(including chocolate) ($7.4 billion), red meats, fresh/chilled/frozen ($6.8 billion), and processed fruit and
vegetables ($6.2 billion).
U.S. imports of services were $187.9 billion in 2018, up 6.8% ($12.0 billion) from 2017, and up 55% since
2008.
The past three decades have also seen a massive shift in technology in the APEC region.
In 1989, less than one person per 100 people had access to the internet or a mobile phone; by 2017,
more than half of the people in the region were connected to the internet and there were more mobile
phone subscriptions than people (Figure 1.4). This massive growth in technology use and penetration
has led to great changes ‒ some say disruption ‒ to economic activity, trade, employment and society.
The APEC region has witnessed some of the most spectacular reductions in poverty in
history. There are about 1 billion fewer poor people in the region now compared to when APEC began.
The ‘extreme poverty’ rate in APEC fell from 41.7 percent to 1.8 percent between 1990 and 2015, while
the ‘poverty’ rate fell from 63.1 percent to 13.4 percent. Meanwhile, the middle income and higher
segment expanded from 27.8 percent of the population in 1990 to 61.0 percent in 2015 which means
more than 888 million.