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Scoop
15-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Ministers Meet To Tackle Global Uncertainty And Rebuild Multilateral Trade System
Issued by the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting Jeju, Republic of Korea, 15 May 2025 Amid rising global trade and economic uncertainty, ministers responsible for trade from APEC's 21 economies convene today for the 2025 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting. Hosted by Korea on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage-listed Jeju Island, the meeting opened with a powerful call for cooperation and renewal of trust in the multilateral trading system. Chairing the meeting, Korea's Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong welcomed his counterparts and reflected on the island's significance to APEC's history and to the global trade community. 'I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone who has made the journey all the way to Jeju Island for this year's APEC MRT meeting,' Minister Cheong said. 'As one of the founding members of APEC in 1989, Korea began by hosting a multilateral meeting in 1991 in Seoul and hosted the MRT meeting in this very island in 2005.' 'Two decades since then, I am honored to serve as the Chair of this gathering,' Minister Cheong added. 'However, I also feel a sense of weight on my shoulders.' Minister Cheong acknowledged that APEC economies are facing overlapping challenges that are putting challenges on the global trade landscape. 'As cross-border trade and interconnected supply chains continue to expand, growing uncertainties are placing a strain on the global economy and trade landscape,' he said. 'Given this challenging global trade environment, the role of APEC is more crucial than ever. This is the reason why the world is paying keen attention to this year's MRT meeting.' He emphasized that the discussions in Jeju would center on restoring multilateralism and positioning APEC economies for the future under the 2025 host economy's theme of 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow – Connect, Innovate, Prosper'. Ministers will explore topics including artificial intelligence innovation for trade facilitation, the future of the World Trade Organization and the multilateral trading system, as well as ways to promote prosperity through sustainable trade. Highlighting the first session on artificial intelligence, he noted, 'For the midst of the rapid transition toward the digital economy, AI is being adopted across a wide range of sectors.' He also introduced the second session on connectivity through the multilateral trading system. 'Discussions on the multilateral trading system including the WTO have long been a focus of the MRT meeting,' he said. 'WTO Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will open this session by introducing the topic for discussion. Given the varying opinions on the role and the direction of the WTO, I look forward to hearing insight and diverse views.' Closing the agenda, ministers will address prosperity through sustainable trade. 'Given the many challenges facing the multilateral trading system, the very existence and the role of APEC has become increasingly evident. Indeed, I believe the outcomes of our discussions will resonate over the world,' said Cheong. He ended on a hopeful note, invoking Jeju's spirit of resilience and collaboration. 'Jeju Island has long embodied the values of community in its way of life. Under this spirit, I hope today's MRT meeting will raise a solid foundation for dialogue and collaboration to overcome the political and economic challenges as well as uncertainties that we encounter.' 'Building on the progress of today's meeting, I look forward to producing meaningful outcomes at the APEC Economic Leaders' Week,' Minister Cheong concluded.
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
APEC Trade Officials Lay Groundwork For Ministerial Meeting
Issued by the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment Jeju, Republic of Korea, 11 May 2025 Trade and investment officials from the 21 APEC member economies gathered in Jeju for the second meeting of the Committee on Trade and Investment, laying critical groundwork ahead of next week's APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. Amid persistent global economic uncertainty, the meeting underscored APEC's enduring role in maintaining open and predictable trade and investment systems. Under Korea's host year theme of 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow: Connect, Innovate, Prosper,' members discussed how APEC can support the multilateral trading system, and reviewed concrete proposals to advance the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) agenda, boost digital trade, strengthen supply chain resilience and connectivity, and deepen cooperation on sustainable and inclusive growth initiatives. 'In Jeju, APEC economies came together with a clear mission: to advance technical work so our ministers can deliver strong, collective outcomes next week,' said Christopher Tan, Chair of the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI). 'As we head toward the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, the spirit of collaboration remains our strongest asset. APEC thrives when we work together—constructively, inclusively and with purpose,' Tan added. Among the key items discussed were Korea's flagship deliverables for 2025, including the APEC Artificial Intelligence Initiative and the Collaborative Framework on Demographic Change. The AI initiative aims to drive economic growth and resilience by enhancing AI readiness, strengthening institutional and workforce capacities, and catalyzing investment in sustainable digital infrastructure. The demographic framework, meanwhile, seeks to address region-wide challenges such as aging populations and labor shortages through cross-border collaboration, human resource mobility and structural reforms. The meeting also heard updates from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), which called on economies to support the multilateral trading system with the WTO as its core. ABAC reiterated the importance of the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, the E-Commerce Agreement and the establishment of a permanent E-Commerce Moratorium. The council also emphasized the need for early FTAAP deliverables, greener trade practices and inclusive policies that champion universal economic participation and empower women and small businesses, as well as the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Paperless Trade. Another highlight was the discussion on the Implementation Plan for the Lima Roadmap (2025–2040), a regional strategy to support informal economic actors in transitioning to the formal and global economy. The plan encourages APEC economies to align policies and capacity-building efforts to foster entrepreneurship, digital access, and financial inclusion. Members also deliberated on advancing the FTAAP agenda, with the CTI holding its first policy dialogue under the Ichma Statement that discussed on how APEC can improve trade facilitation amongst members as well as increase the convergence of regional trade agreements. Members discussed proposals on capacity building, paperless trade, digital trade and support for women participation in global value chain. Looking ahead, outcomes from this meeting will directly inform ministerial discussions on 15–16 May in Jeju, where APEC trade ministers are expected to chart the region's path on priorities such as WTO reform, inclusive digital trade, and regional economic integration.
Korea Herald
09-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea to host APEC 2025 with focus on AI, demographic shifts
APEC's 1st Senior Officials' Meeting brings 2,000 participants, including US, China, Russia, Taiwan GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — This year's APEC summit, hosted by South Korea, will place artificial intelligence and demographic shifts at the forefront of the agenda for discussion — topics that have never before taken the spotlight at the regional economic forum. South Korea's Ambassador Yoon Seong-mee, chair of the 2025 APEC Senior Officials' Meeting, on Sunday emphasized the urgency and significance in prioritizing cooperation on AI technologies by the 21 APEC economies and responses to population changes such as low birth rates and aging societies. "Especially, AI and demographic structure are topics that have never been addressed at APEC, while the previous APEC has covered a wide range of issues such as trade liberalization, labor and education," Yoon said in Korean when asked by The Korea Herald how the 2025 APEC summit would differentiate itself from previous iterations. Yoon made the remarks during a press conference following the first Senior Officials' Meeting in the historic city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, where the APEC summit will be held under the theme 'Building a Sustainable Tomorrow" from late October to early November, in Korea for the first time in 20 years. South Korea last hosted the APEC summit in Busan in 2005. 'There are no fields unrelated to AI. Therefore, AI is a critically important issue with a massive impact, influencing our future across all sectors worldwide. The same applies to the issue of demographic structure,' Yoon said. The ambassador explained that all APEC members will be affected by demographic changes in the long term, despite the varying speeds at which they encounter such challenges. "I believe that the fact of proactively selecting these globally significant issues, which require serious consideration on an international scale, and proactively introducing them into the APEC discussion framework already represents a major contribution on our part as host of the APEC summit," Yoon said. "The very act of putting such profound and thought-provoking agenda topics on the table is, in itself, a meaningful contribution." As agreed with member countries, APEC 2025 will have discussions on harnessing the vast potential of AI in a sustainable and inclusive manner as a key agenda. South Korea has also proposed specific cooperation initiatives and capacity-building programs aimed at transforming demographic challenges into opportunities, rather than crises. US, China, Russia, Taiwan attend The first meeting of senior officials marked the official beginning of the APEC-related schedule leading up to the summit and served as the very first opportunity to introduce Gyeongju to the official delegations of APEC members in advance, according to Yoon. The meeting drew around 2,000 participants, including representatives from 21 APEC member countries as well as the APEC Secretariat, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. The US APEC team, led by Ambassador Matt Murray, also attended the meeting. Yoon and Lee Ji-yoon, an APEC senior official as well as the deputy director general of international economic affairs at South Korea's Foreign Ministry, held bilateral meetings with delegations from Canada, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, among others, according to the Foreign Ministry. During the briefing, Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, brushed off any worries when asked about whether concerns were raised over potential impacts of the political turbulence in South Korea for the summit. 'APEC meetings have been held under similarly changing political situations, but the APEC work has continued throughout the years. So, I think most stakeholders and experts are pretty confident that this work will go ahead,' Pedrosa said in English at the news conference. 'There is a very strong team." Pedrosa also pointed out that one of the issues brought up during this meeting was the "need to respond to new challenges that emerged from the evolving trade environment," reiterating, "We are in an evolving trade environment." Pedrosa, however, refrained from providing a direct answer when asked by The Korea Herald whether there were concerns about a shift toward protectionism, which contradicts APEC's vision of free and open trade in the Indo-Pacific region, as US President Donald Trump has imposed blanket tariffs, and whether the issue would be addressed at the APEC summit. 'We don't know how trade policy will change over the next months, but one thing I can say, as far as the current administration is concerned, is that President Trump was a very active supporter of the APEC Putrajaya Vision during his first term as president,' Pedrosa said. 'So I think that gives us a very good sign of how committed the current administration will be.'
