Achievements
GOS finished its multi-year project of the Menu of Options which had been
implemented through three phases since 2000. The Menu of Options contains a
comprehensive list of measures APEC members could undertake to liberalize trade
in services and promote economic and technical cooperation among members. Other
recent GOS activities include:
- At the APEC
Conference on Competition Policy Issues in Services Sectors, experts
from UNCTAD, OECD and IDRC presented on the theme of "Competition
and Development" with case studies looking at developing economies.
Mexico, Peru and Philippines introduced their competition policy and
sectoral experiences in infrastructure service, transport infrastructure,
telecommunication and electricity markets, and express delivery and postal
service. Competition policy and professional services in legal and
accounting services were also discussed with the examples from the OECD, US
and Australia.
- The APEC Training Seminar on Trade in Energy Services targets government
officials and other public/private stakeholders from the member economies of
APEC, especially those involved with the negotiation and the implementation
of energy services in the WTO and RTAs/FTAs and in the formulation of
domestic regulation. The seminar's main objectives were to familiarize
participants with the institutional framework for an international agreement
or understanding on trade in services; and to design templates of
negotiating strategies that will enable APEC economies to maximize the
benefits from negotiations.
- Participants at the Trade
Policy Dialogue on Aspects of the Relationship between Investments, Trade in
Services and Trade in Goods shared the perspectives of economies and
business that aim to attract investment, as well as to liberalize and
facilitate trade in goods and services in the region.
- The APEC Capacity-Building Seminar on Transnational Education Services
aimed to identify regulatory concerns arising from delivery of transnational
education (TNE) and to promote public-private partnership among government
agencies, educational groups, and professional organizations.
