They prefer to view the objective as a long-term goal. Asked how long the members should take to realise the goal, Krirk-krai refused to be specific, saying, "It should be a very, very long-term goal that some of us may not be able to witness in our lifetime."

Krirk-krai said that first of all, it was difficult for countries to strike a free-trade agreement (FTA), citing problems with the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which has been delayed. "If members take a long time to achieve this goal, they may lose interest in it," he said.

Besides, the FTAAP talks should not undermine the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, and the FTAAP should not be an excuse for countries not to follow the obligations of Bogor to open markets by 2010-20. If members were to discuss an FTAAP, they should abide by Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and Article 5 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

The FTAAP was among the agenda items discussed by the Apec trade ministers yesterday. They also discussed a speedy conclusion of the Doha Round under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), models for measures for regional FTAs that Apec could voluntarily adopt and areas of cooperation.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said: "Washington's top priority is the resuscitation of the Doha Round of talks." But, as conclusion of Doha is the near-term goal, "it should not preclude or prevent us from looking medium to longer term to search for initiatives for broader free trade and an understanding of free trade in the region".

However, Krirk-krai said China told the meeting it did not have time to think about the initiative. The Philippines and Indonesia said they needed time to reflect on the idea. Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand and Chile welcomed the idea. Earlier, Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson compared the FTAAP with Plan B of the WTO deal.

As of yesterday, members still disagreed about whether they would insert the target year of 2007 for the Doha Round conclusion in the Apec standalone statement on the WTO that was drafted by the US. Krirk-krai said he preferred to see the target year as soon as possible. "Otherwise, it will be a Doha Lite agreement - I think the most appropriate year is 2007," he said.

WTO director-general Pascal Lamy yesterday told the gathering of the Asia-Pacific Business Advisory Council he urged the business sector to lobby governments in their countries for a successful conclusion. He also urged Apec business leaders to engage in the negotiations.

Although countries blamed the US and the EU for the failure of the Doha Round in July, Shwab said, "No single country will be able to unilaterally put the Doha Round back on track."

She added, "Artificial deadlines won't do the trick if key WTO members are not willing to stretch beyond their positions in July, when the Doha Round talks broke down."

Krirk-krai said after the meeting between Lamy and Apec trade ministers that Lamy had authorised negotiating groups to convene talks at the expert level in Geneva from today to resuscitate the deal.

Krirk-krai also took to the Apec forum to explain the economic policy of the interim government, saying Thailand adheres to the WTO's principles by applying the sufficiency economy. "We will apply prudent economic measures by thinking through each policy to ensure they are sustainable and not distorted, instead of implementing short-term oriented economic policies that destroy the system, such as price intervention resulting in overspending." Krirk-krai added that the government would not implement economic policies influenced by business power and political interests as had happened in the past.

He said the Thai government's highest priority was a multilateral system. "Even if you include all FTA agreements, they won't be as good as one multilateral WTO trade agreement."

Jeerawat Na Thalang

The Nation

Hanoi