Collective Action

Steps to Implement

Time Frame

a)  Gather information and promote dialogue on and study:

      i)        The objectives, necessity, role and operation of each APEC economy� competition policy and/or laws and administrative procedures, thereby establishing a database on competition policy;

     ii)        Competition policy issues that impact on trade and investment flows in the Asia-Pacific region;

   iii)        Exemptions and exceptions from the coverage of each APEC economy� competition policy and/or laws in an effort to ensure that each is no broader than necessary to achieve a legitimate and explicitly identified objective;

    iv)        Areas for technical assistance and the modalities thereof, including exchange and training programs for officials in charge of competition policy, taking into account the availability of resources; and

     v)        The interrelationship between competition policy and/or laws and other policies related to trade and investment.

A.     Collective action: Continue policy dialogue and information exchange and study on competition policy, competition laws and their enforcement and their interrelationship with other policies related to trade and investment, including through further workshops if members so decide.

B.     Individual economies: To provide further information (update) on their competition policies, competition laws and their enforcement, exemptions and exceptions from the coverage of competition policy and/or law, thereby enhancing transparency and contributing to the development and enhancement of the APEC database on competition law and policy.

C.     Individual economies to seek technical assistance and/or consider providing training programs with a view to sharing their experience in operating competition policies and laws with others.

D.     Complete the study on the advantages and disadvantages of competition law for developing economies.

Started 1996,

(each annual CPDG Workshop is an opportunity for this continuous exchange)

Ongoing (data base is continuously updated)

Ongoing

Completed 1999

b)    Deepen competition policy dialogue between APEC economies and relevant international organizations

A.     Collective action: maintain dialogue with other international organizations considering competition policy and law issues.

B.     Collective action: continue to respond positively to interest by the WTO Working Group on the Interaction Between Trade and Competition Policy in sharing information on APEC� competition policy/deregulation work, in accordance with the mandate given by APEC Trade Ministers.

Ongoing

(OECD Coop. Initiative)

Ongoing

c)     Continue to develop understanding in the APEC business community of competition policy and/or laws and administrative procedures

Collective action: Individual economies to further develop dialogue with the business community on competition policy and/or laws and administrative procedures.

Ongoing

d)    Continue to develop an understanding of competition policies and/or laws within their respective governments and within relevant domestic constituencies, thereby fostering a culture of competition

Collective action: Individual economies will develop and implement strategies to explain the benefits of competition policy/laws to their citizens and government.

Ongoing

e)    Encourage cooperation among the competition authorities of APEC economies with regard to information exchange, notification and consultation

A.     Collective action: consider further actions for promoting cooperation among competition authorities.

B.        Individual economies to list and update contact points of competition authorities no later than 1 January 2001 with a view to information exchange, consultation and communication where deemed necessary.

Ongoing

Completed

f)      Contribute to the use of trade and competition laws, policies and measures that promote free and open trade, investment and competition

A.        Interaction with other APEC Subfora.

Ongoing

g)       Encourage all APEC economies to implement the �PEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform��

A.       Collective action is to establish a set of non-binding APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform.

B.       Individual Economies: Action oriented undertakings directed to the implementation of the �PEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform�� by APEC Fora and Subfora.

September 1999.

Ongoing

h)       Undertake capacity building programs to assist economies in implementing the �PEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform��

A.     Collective Action: Participation in the APEC-OECD Cooperative Initiative for Regulatory Reform

B.     Collective Action: Participation in the Training Program to Promote Economic Competition in Regulated Sectors.

Feb. 2001 to Sep. 2002

Feb. 2002 to

Feb. 2003

Collective Action

Steps to Implement

Time Frame

(a)   Publish annual reports detailing actions taken by APEC economies to deregulate their domestic regulatory regimes.

Individual economies agreed that this would occur within their IAP to report on reforms to their domestic regulatory regimes and to update such reports annually.

Starting 1996

(b)   Develop further actions taking into account the above reports, including:

i)  Policy dialogue on APEC economies�� experiences in regard to best practices in deregulation, including the use of individual case studies to assist in the design and implementation of deregulatory measures, and consideration of further options for a work program which may include:

-          Identification of common priority areas and sectors for deregulation;

-          provision of technical assistance in designing and implementing deregulation measures; and

-          examination of the possibility of establishing APEC guidelines on domestic regulation.

A.    Collective action: take stock of information already gathered in APEC on regulatory regimes and regulatory reform with a view to identifying common experiences, and technical assistance needs and availability.

B.    Collective action: promote dialogue and understanding within APEC, through focused discussion, on the experiences of APEC economies and on the principles applied to and best practices in, regulatory reform (drawing on the short-term information gathering exercise).

C.      Collective action: following the Christchurch workshop on competition policy and deregulation, develop a common understanding of the interrelationships between competition policy, deregulation and trade liberalization.

D.      Collective action: establish a set of non-binding APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform, and a set of action orientated undertakings on competition policy and deregulation.

E.       Individual Economies: Action oriented undertakings directed to the implementation of the �PEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform�� by APEC Fora and Subfora.

Ongoing and continuous.

Ongoing

September 1999

Ongoing