The Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance discussed the results of implementation of cooperation plans in 2006, focusing on trade facilitation and regulations for bilateral and regional free trade agreements.

Delegates praised the Vietnamese delegation’s report on the effectiveness of its action plan on trade facilitation in the framework of standards and conformance. They said Vietnam has made significant contributions to carrying out the goal of reducing transaction costs by five percent in the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan.

They reached a high consensus on the 12 regulations designed for bilateral and regional trade agreements and will submit them to the third conference of the APEC Committee on Investment and Trade which are due to take place in several days’ time.

Meanwhile, the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures approved the final report on the implementation of the Shanghai Goal, which details regulations on links between the customs sector and enterprises. Accordingly, each member economy has its own plan of action to establish links between the customs sector and enterprises.  

Earlier, the Government Procurement Experts’ Group (GPEG) approved the Non-Binding Principles on Government Procurement, presided over by Australia.