behind-the-border.pptVIP

The Business Vision of an APEC CommunityAPEC’s role in Asia-Pacific business development Tony Nowell ABAC New Zealand Chair ABAC Liberalisation Working Group New Zealand and the Asia Pacific Economy Asia Pacific Regional Economic Integration and Architecture Conference 25 March 2010 The Context In this 21st Century the comprehensive integration of the global supply chain demands free and open trade and investment to ensure that the businesses of Asia-Pacific can give all economies and peoples of the region access to and the benefit of the widest possible range of goods and services The global centre of economic activity is the Asia-Pacific region The ease and speed of movement of goods has become a critical factor Efficient and effective cross border management is a critical ingredient in the supply chain – “time is money” Reconciliation of tighter border control and trade growth is a serious challenge Business believes rigorous security IS compatible with improved facilitation – BUT requires robust and innovative systems Vastly increased movements of goods and people Need to protect against unwanted incursion of pests and people Guard against outbound illicit trade of ‘national treasures’ Increasingly difficult to manage trade flows in these circumstances, against agreements in place with trading partners Greater pressure to assure a secure ‘leak proof’ border A more extensive array of public agencies is engaged The very concept of ‘border’ is under debate Time is Money Far too much variance between ports Extreme security and extra load out time requirements impose heavy non-recoverable financing and storage costs Ultimate cost rests with the end consumer Reduce compliance burden KPI’s for time and transaction cost savings Improve capacity building and security systems Rules based systems Post the Asian currency crisis Turbulent conditions in the world’s financial markets including volatile currencies The collapse of and major write-downs in equity mark