Apec Business Advisory Council calls for rejection of protectionism
The annual report to Apec economic leaders also includes recommendations for digital trade agreements
[GYEONGJU] Business leaders of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) members met economic leaders at an annual dialogue on Friday (Oct 31), to discuss recommendations made in an earlier report.
The Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac) is “deeply concerned at the continuing trade disruption and steeply rising protectionism”, it said in its annual Report to Apec Economic Leaders.
The business community recognises that Asia-Pacific’s prosperity “has been founded on the gradual reduction of distortions and the progressive opening of markets”, it said.
“The economic landscape of today is increasingly restrictive, opaque and uncertain. This is bad for business, growth and sustainability – in every Apec economy.”
Submitted ahead of Friday’s dialogue, the report featured recommendations to manage the rising cost of doing business amid uncertainty, and mitigate impacts on consumers and workers.
These include upgrading and expanding trade agreements and supporting ambitious outcomes at the 14th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference.
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Another recommendation was to “ensure Apec leads the world in digital transformation”, from infrastructure and the workforce to open digital trade rules.
Abac also made separate recommendations on model provisions for digital trade agreements, following a workstream that Abac Singapore has led since 2024.
These include rules that enable cross-border data transfers while safeguarding legitimate policy objectives. “Digital trade provisions should discourage data localisation,” Abac said in the report.
Calls for de-escalation
In a statement on “open, rules-based, predictable, stable, competitive and non-discriminatory markets”, Abac called for the reaffirming of Apec’s founding goal of free and open trade, and the core WTO principles of a rules-based order.
There should also be “de-escalation to create more stable ground for business”, with leaders preserving existing market access commitments and avoiding new trade measures that violate treaty obligations.
Singapore has three representatives in Abac: Elaine Lam, group managing director and head of global corporate banking at OCBC; Singapore Business Federation chief executive officer Kok Ping Soon, who is vice-chair of Abac’s Regional Economic Integration Working Group; and SGTech chairman Wong Wai Meng, who is vice-chair of Abac’s Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Working Group.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong posted a group photo of him and the three representatives, as well as Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and for Home Affairs Sim Ann.
He said he was grateful for the representatives’ work in Abac, “from launching the Apec Centre for Paperless Trade in Singapore to advancing digital trust and green skills, helping businesses trade more efficiently and prepare for a sustainable future”.
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