THE AUCKLAND CHALLENGE
APEC ECONOMIC LEADERS’ DECLARATION
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
13 SEPTEMBER, 1999
We, the Economic Leaders of APEC, celebrate here in Auckland ten years of unprecedented cooperation in our region, in
pursuit of a vision of stability, security and prosperity for our peoples. We shall continue to exercise leadership to
reach our goals and to meet the challenge we have set ourselves.
We welcome the improved performance and prospects of our economies since we last met, and commend the actions taken to
reform those economies affected by the crisis. The cooperative growth strategy we adopted in Kuala Lumpur, and sound
macroeconomic policies in key economies, have supported the restoration of confidence and growth, and have allowed us to
share growing confidence about our prospects.
We are not complacent about the risks that might impede recovery and sustainable growth and we will sustain the momentum
for reform. Continued multilateral and bilateral support is still important. We welcome and endorse the efforts of
Ministers through the year in pursuit of APEC’s goals. As Leaders, we accept responsibility for resisting protectionism,
opening markets further, and addressing structural and regulatory weaknesses that contributed to the economic downturn
from 1997. We will achieve this by strengthening our markets through regulatory reform and enhanced competition and by
improving the international framework governing trade and investment flows. To this end we commit to the launch of a new
Round of negotiations in the World Trade Organisation.
All people in our communities have a stake in the success of APEC. We want to ensure they achieve their full potential
for improved economic and social well being. We particularly welcome the more active participation of women and business
in APEC’s work this year.
Supporting Growth through Strong and Open Markets
Improved competitiveness through ongoing reform is the road to recovery and sustainable growth. Through APEC, we seek to
expand opportunities for business and employment growth, build strong and open markets and ensure that our communities
and economies can participate successfully in the international economy. Open, transparent and well-governed markets,
both domestic and international, are the essential foundation of prosperity and enable enterprises to innovate and
create wealth.
We will strengthen our markets by:
providing greater transparency and predictability in corporate and public sector governance
enhancing the role of competition to improve efficiency and broaden participation by enterprises
improving the quality of regulation and the capacity of regulators to design and implement policies for sustainable
growth
reducing compliance costs and facilitating business growth
building a favourable regional and international environment for free and fair competition
In reconfirming our commitment to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010/2020, we endorse
the attached APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform. These principles provide a core part of the
framework for strengthening our markets which will better integrate individual and collective actions by APEC economies
to achieve those goals.
We accept Ministers’ proposals for an initial work programme to strengthen markets. This gives priority to strengthening
market infrastructure and human capacity in our economies and enterprises, especially in developing economies. It also
calls for specific implementation strategies in areas such as natural gas and e-commerce. We call upon the private
sector, including the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the APEC Financiers’ Group, to contribute to these
efforts.
We welcome and endorse the work of our Finance Ministers, and encourage their efforts to strengthen domestic financial
markets and secure the foundation for the return of capital to the region by:
enhanced supervision of financial markets, including through improved training of supervisors and regulators
developing domestic bond markets based on the just published Compendium of Sound Practices
developing and applying agreed corporate governance principles
The alignment of the APEC Finance Ministers’ process with the APEC Leaders’ process offers new opportunities for
cooperation. We instruct our Ministers to pursue greater links among APEC fora and their work programmes. We look
forward to receiving a report from Finance Ministers of further progress in dealing with financial market issues when we
next meet.
We reaffirm that individual actions by economies are the principal means by which APEC’s goal will be attained. We
acknowledge that progress towards the Bogor Goals has been uneven, and undertake to continue concrete actions to fulfil
our commitment. We also accept the views of ABAC and other business representatives who have called for action plans to
be more specific, transparent and comprehensive, and welcome the initiative by Ministers to review and strengthen
processes for individual and collective actions under the Osaka Action Agenda.
APEC’s trade facilitation programmes are already delivering substantial benefits - in customs harmonisation, standards
and conformance, and increased mobility of business people. We welcome the agreed new initiatives, and instruct
Ministers to give priority to this work next year, in consultation with business, and to better communicate the value of
APEC’s trade facilitation role.
Enhanced economic and technical cooperation is essential if we are to lift our peoples into prosperity, and narrow the
development gap among Asia/Pacific economies. The financial crisis has underlined the importance of cooperation in human
and institutional capacity building, science and technology exchanges and development of infrastructure. We direct our
Ministers to give special attention in the coming year to improving effective and coordinated delivery of APEC’s Ecotech
and capacity building programmes, in accordance with the Manila Declaration.
We welcome Ministers’ report on the APEC Food System proposed by the APEC Business Advisory Council, and endorse its
recommendations on the development of rural infrastructure, dissemination of technological advances in food production
and processing, and promotion of trade in food products. A robust regional food system that efficiently links food
production, food processing and consumption, is a vital contribution to meeting the objectives of APEC. We instruct
Ministers to implement the recommendations, taking into account ABAC’s submission this year, and monitor annually
progress towards achieving the APEC Food System.
We recognise the key role that electronic commerce will play in linking our economies. APEC must continue its efforts to
create a favourable environment for e-commerce in cooperation with the private sector.
In a little over 100 days, APEC economies will face the challenges and risks of the century date change. Intense
activities in economies and throughout the region have lessened risks but more cooperative planning must occur. We
recognise that global interdependence means we must continue our efforts to prepare, accelerate cross-border contingency
planning, and enhance transparency about readiness as a matter of the highest priority. We adopt the APEC Y2K 100 Days
Cooperation Initiative to intensify cooperation for responding to potential Y2K events. We agree to share information
and expertise about Y2K impacts on critical infrastructures during and after the date change.
APEC in the Global Economy
APEC will continue to play a leadership role in strengthening the global economy, especially the multilateral trading
system.
Strong financial systems are fundamental to achieving robust, open and growing economies. We welcome the report from our
Finance Ministers on developments in strengthening the international finance architecture and are encouraged by the
progress made. The establishment of the Financial Stability Forum and the new informal mechanism to enhance dialogue
among the systematically important economies should advance cooperation on strengthening the international financial
system. We support ongoing efforts to improve crisis prevention and crisis resolution, and urge prompt action to improve
transparency of highly leveraged institutions. We also support the developing consensus on the need to ensure that
reforms of the international financial system, and domestic financial markets, are mutually reinforcing. APEC’s diverse
membership provides a special contribution to discussions on domestic and international financial reforms. In respect of
both the public and private sectors, APEC advocates:
greater transparency and openness including improved reliability and timeliness of information
clearer accountability for decisions and judgements
This year, APEC has a unique opportunity to give impetus to deliberations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We will
give the strongest possible support at Seattle to the launch of a new Round of multilateral negotiations within the WTO,
and endorse the positions adopted by Ministers. We recognise the need to build public confidence in this process and to
improve coordination on trade related matters among relevant international organisations. We agree on the importance of
ensuring full implementation of existing WTO agreements. We see continued growth in international trade and investment
as the best means of achieving prosperity and security.
In particular, we agree that the new Round should:
include comprehensive market access negotiations covering industrial tariffs in addition to the already mandated
negotiations on services and agriculture
lead to timely and effective improvements in market access to the benefit of all participating economies, particularly
developing economies and,
consistent with this objective, provide scope to review and strengthen rules and disciplines
have a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda and be concluded within three years as a single package which does
not preclude the possibility of early results on a provisional basis
We support, as one of the important objectives of the negotiations on agriculture, the abolition of agricultural export
subsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions and restrictions.
We call on all WTO members to join us at Seattle in a commitment not to impose new or more restrictive trade measures
for the duration of the negotiations, as applied during the Uruguay Round. We pledge not to impose any such measures
before the Seattle WTO Ministerial meeting.
Support for ongoing WTO negotiations will remain a key area of APEC’s work throughout those negotiations. In particular
we resolve to work actively in the negotiations to ensure that APEC and WTO are mutually reinforcing. To respond fully
to the challenges and opportunities of today’s interdependent world for the benefit of all our peoples and to avoid
fragmentation of the international trading system, we need to ensure convergence between regional and multilateral
liberalisation initiatives.
In order to achieve universality of membership, we also seek early progress in the accession negotiations to the WTO,
including for those APEC economies that are not yet WTO members. We issue a strong call for these accession negotiations
to be concluded at the earliest opportunity, if possible prior to commencement of the new WTO negotiations.
Participation in Prosperity
As Leaders, we recognise our responsibilities to ensure full and successful participation by all of our populations in
the modern economy. Technological change has irreversibly integrated global markets for goods and services, and finance.
The effective development and application of knowledge will be a key driver of future economic success, and we pledge to
ensure that APEC economies are to the forefront of building and sharing their expertise in this vital sector.
Cooperation in such fields as e-education, science and technology and life-long skills development should be
strengthened. Globalisation must become an opportunity for all.
We commit to ensuring that APEC takes a leading role in enabling developing economies to participate successfully in the
global economy, through enhancing human and institutional capacities and progressively opening markets. We recognise
that income and wealth disparities between and within economies can pose a challenge for social stability. Appropriate
social safety nets play a role in facilitating economic and social adjustment. We welcome efforts by APEC economies, and
other institutions, to address social safety net issues, and encourage further efforts to maintain employment and
environmentally sustainable growth. In that regard, we welcome the outcomes of the Human Resources Development and Small
and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meetings. APEC economies will pursue enhanced dialogue and continue to seek policy
approaches that encourage inclusion and economic advancement, as well as initiative and innovation.
We welcome the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC, which is a significant step to enhance the ability of
women to contribute to and benefit from prosperity of the region. We shall review implementation of the Framework when
we next meet.
In 1999, we have enhanced opportunities for business, especially smaller enterprises, to make their views known in APEC.
Those views are of keen interest to us. Further dialogue with the private sector, at all levels, is essential to
maintain the dynamism and relevance of APEC. We also look to the private sector for support for reform.
Once again, we welcome the recommendations from the APEC Business Advisory Council, ABAC, and thank members of the
Council for their contribution in areas such as capacity building, finance, food, e-commerce and air services. We
instruct Ministers to take the ABAC recommendations into account during their work in 2000. We support implementation of
the eight steps for more competitive air services, and the identification of further steps to liberalise air services in
accordance with the Bogor Goals. Tourism and air services have a large contribution to make to development and community
building in the region.
Conclusion
As Leaders, we recognise that our role in APEC, as in our own economies, is to set the course which will allow for
sustainable development and which will deliver a strong social dividend to our populations. We acknowledge that economic
adjustments may be difficult, and that there is social cost which must be reduced. But we are united in our belief that
the path to increased prosperity requires continual reform and adjustment of our policies and outlook. An open regional
framework, within which competition and cooperation flourish, is the best means of building a prosperous future
together. We embark on APEC’s second decade confident that a deepening and enduring spirit of openness, partnership and
community is being built. The challenge we collectively face is to maintain our momentum and deliver on our commitment.
We accept the challenge.
Attachment:
APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform
Open and Competitive Markets are the Key Drivers of Economic Efficiency and Consumer Welfare
Recognising the strategic importance of developing competition principles to support the strengthening of markets to
ensure and sustain growth in the region and that these principles provide a framework that links all aspects of economic
policy that affect the functioning of markets;
Recognising that these principles are non-binding and will be implemented by each member economy voluntarily, consistent
with the way APEC operates;
Recognising that the adoption of these principles for policy development needs to take account of, and encompass the
diverse circumstances of economies in the region and the different priorities that arise from these circumstances;
Recognising that member economies will have flexibility to take into account their diverse circumstances in implementing
this framework;
Recognising that policy and regulation in APEC economies may properly have objectives other than promoting competition;
Recognising that exemptions and exceptions from a competition driven regulatory framework may be necessary and that
these will be implemented in a way that minimises economic distortions, giving consideration to this framework;
Recognising that an improved competitive environment is beneficial to small and medium sized enterprises, and that
extensive consultation has occurred with the business community in developing these principles; and
Drawing upon relevant inputs from various APEC fora and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council’s "Principles for
Guiding the Development of a Competition-Driven Policy Framework for APEC Economies";
APEC endorses the following principles:
Non Discrimination
(i) Application of competition and regulatory principles in a manner that does not discriminate between or among
economic entities in like circumstances, whether these entities are foreign or domestic.
Comprehensiveness
(ii) Broad application of competition and regulatory principles to economic activity including goods and services, and
private and public business activities.
(iii) The recognition of the competition dimension of policy development and reform which affects the efficient
functioning of markets.
(iv)) The protection of the competitive process and the creation and maintenance of an environment for free and fair
competition.
(v) The recognition that competitive markets require a good overall legal framework, clear property rights, and non
discriminatory, efficient and effective enforcement.
Transparency
(vi) Transparency in policies and rules, and their implementation.
Accountability
(vii) Clear responsibility within domestic administrations for the implementation of the competition and efficiency
dimension in the development of policies and rules, and their administration.
Implementation
To achieve this, APEC Member Economies will make efforts to:
1) Identify and/or review regulations and measures that impede the ability and opportunity of businesses (including
SMEs) to compete on the basis of efficiency and innovation.
2) Ensure that measures to achieve desired objectives are adopted and/or maintained with the minimum distortion to
competition.
3) Address anti-competitive behaviour by implementing competition policy to protect the competitive process.
4) Consider issues of timing and sequencing involved in introducing competition mechanisms and reform measures, taking
into account the circumstances of individual economies.
5) Take practical steps to:
Promote consistent application of policies and rules;
Eliminate unnecessary rules and regulatory procedures; and
Improve the transparency of policy objectives and the way rules are administered.
6) Foster confidence and build capability in the application of competition and regulatory policy. This will be
achieved, inter alia, by:
Promoting advocacy of competition policy and regulatory reform;
Building expertise in competition and regulatory authorities, the courts and the private sector; and
Adequately resourcing regulatory institutions, including competition institutions.
7) Provide economic and technical co-operation and assistance and build capability in developing economies by better
utilising the accumulated APEC knowledge and expertise on competition policy and regulatory reform, including by
developing closer links with non APEC sources of technical expertise.
8) Build on existing efforts in APEC to help specify approaches to regulatory reform and ensure that such approaches are
consistent with these principles.
9) Develop programmes, including capacity building and technical assistance, to support the voluntary implementation of
the approaches to regulatory reform developed by relevant APEC fora.
10) Develop effective means of co-operation between APEC economy regulatory agencies, including competition authorities,
and ensure that these are adequately resourced.
* Recognising that efforts will seek to avoid the duplication of work of other fora, as appropriate