AN EXPLORATION OF THE NEED FOR AND COST OF SELECTED TRADE FACILITATION MEASURES IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WTO NEGOTIATIONS

54 An exploration of the need for and cost of selected trade facilitation measures in Asia and the Pacific in the context of the WTO negotiations

conducted by Customs and AQSIQ in 2005/06 are estimated, respectively, at
RMB 5.888 million (about USD 731 thousand) and RMB 4.386 million (about USD 544
thousand).

Several Chinese trade facilitation reforms are linked to the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) trade facilitation framework. Under this framework, when setting the
APEC Bogor Goals of trade liberalization and trade facilitation, the APEC leaders agreed
to two separate timetables, 2010 for developed members and 2020 for developing members.
In 2001, the APEC leaders agreed to lower transaction costs by 5 per cent within 5 years.
In trade facilitation negotiation and implementation within the WTO framework, the study
recommends that APEC methods may be considered by the trade facilitation negotiating
group in order to lay a foundation for the smooth implementation of multilaterally agreed
upon trade facilitation measures.

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