Business & Government officials to clarify on relevance of RTAs/FTAs
29 May '06
2 min read
Business leaders and government officials from APEC Member Economies have met in Ho Chi Minh City to clarify the business relevance of Regional Trade Arrangements and Free Trade Agreements (RTAs/FTAs).
The 2006 APEC Policy Dialogue on RTAs/FTAs was the first to involve business representatives that included leading executives from FedEx, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Trade Business Organization Network.
FedEx Express Managing Director and United States alternative representative to the APEC Business Advisory Council, Mr. Ralph Carter, highlighted the business community?s desire that current WTO negotiations produce a comprehensive agreement.
"Most businesses, if offered a choice, would prefer to liberalize trade through the multilateral or WTO approach," Mr. Carter said to the dialogue meeting.
"However, as the Doha round has shown us, the WTO process is becoming much more difficult.
"Free trade agreements are therefore an important compliment to the WTO and can be quite successful in stimulating trade. FTAs can open up new markets, expand investment opportunities, lower the cost of doing business and provide important legal protections for investors and operators."
The First Deputy Minister of Viet Nam?s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. LE Cong Phung, highlighted the value of RTAs and FTAs to APEC's ultimate goals.
"High quality RTAs and FTAs are important avenues to achieve APEC's free and open trade and investment," Mr Le said at the meeting.
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