8.3. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Since 1989, the organization operating the Asia-Pacific Cooperation - AREC. This is a fairly broad intercontinental group, which includes both industrialized countries and developing countries. First, it represented only some participants. Later - at meetings in Seattle, 1993, in Bogotá, 1994 - were worked

Organization Asia-Pacific Economic cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation - APEC - 1989 Australia Brunei Vietnam (1997) Hong Kong (1991) Canada China (1991) Kyrybati Malaysia Marshall Islands Mexico (1993) New Zealand Papua New Guinea (1993) Peru (1997) Republic of Korea Russian Federation (1997) Singapore U.S. Thailand Taiwan (1991) Philippines Chile (1994) Japan

out program of joint action: trade liberalization, both regional and global, creating favorable conditions for foreign investment, cooperation in technology, customs, disarmament and free trade zone before 2000 (for the economically less developed countries - by 2020). AREC, a relatively new inter-regional groupings will play a leading role in the development of multilateral forms of economic cooperation in all fields. It also creates a mechanism for settlement of disputes. Until 1997, AREC united: Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines, Chile, Japan - "elitist Club 18 States of the three continents. Association has ten working groups and secretariat, the special committee on trade and investment, but does not have decision-making. It preserves the status of a consultative forum, such as his influential members,

like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand is seeking to speed progress towards institutionalization of multilateral cooperation. In 1997 he joined ARES in Vietnam, Peru and the Russian Federation.

AREC – is an open group. In the introduction to his claim of India, Pakistan, Colombia, Ecuador. The fact that its membership includes all ASEAN member countries and evidence of deepening, and the complications of international economic integration in the Asia Pacific region.

At the sessions AREC program designed to enhance the development of non-discriminatory trade and investment liberalization in the region. In accordance with the provisions of the Uruguay Round of GATT in the APR must be strengthened multilateral system of trade and finance. Its main features are:

1. Commitment to the multilateral system of trade and investment, a clear understanding of the danger of extremist regionalism;

2. The emphasis on market-oriented coordination of exchange rates and macroeconomic trends to settlement in the region, leading in particular to reduce the Japanese overly active trade balance, on the one hand, and the huge U.S. trade deficit - the other;

3. Significant reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers within 3-5 years all countries APR;

4. Harmonization and liberalization of industrial policy in the region.

Coordination of public policy at the level of the entire region in order to facilitate doubling foreign capital inflows during the period of reform by international financial institutions. In 1996, the VIII conference in Manila was taken plan of Manila for AREC and thus made an important step to solving problems of economic integration: a coordinated individual and collective plans for liberalization of goods and services. Action plan of Manila includes:

• "Individual Action Plan to liberalize trade and investment;

• "collective plan of action" on the liberalizing measures that are implemented jointly;

• Plan joint activities in economic and technical cooperation.

AREC Ninth Conference held in Vancouver in November 1997 in the currency and financial crisis in Asia and identified medium and long term measures to stabilize financial markets of the region. The aim remains unchanged - in 2020 a free trade area for goods and capital move across space, where half of humanity and which holds the world's highest rates of economic growth.

At the same time among the participating countries AREC remain significant differences. U.S. attract primarily Asian markets, in addition, they consider ARES as a means of obtaining trade concessions from the EU process and containment of the East Asian economic union in which their participation is not possible.

Asian states perceive AREC as a driving force to accelerate the development of their economies, and therefore interested not only in the liberalization of goods and services but also in scientific and technical cooperation. In addition, the U.S. remains the guarantor of political and military stability in the Asia Pacific region. That is why the concept of ARES is still determined to finish. So at present we can talk only of a preparatory stage for integration at the level of association of free trade.

In these circumstances, Asian countries are considered different options for possible models of integration. In particular, is an attractive initiative of Malaysia to establish the East Asian Economic Union (East Asia Economic Caucus) as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. There is a concept of economic cooperation zone around the Sea of Japan. Quite a common idea of "China common market", in which the combination provides the financial resources of Taiwan, research on management and communication systems of Hong Kong, sales and service network in Singapore and the huge economic potential of China. His words have not said Russia.

All this suggests that integration processes in the Asian continent have great prospects and their own logic of development, agreed to strengthen the role of the visible region in the world economic ties.

Reflects global processes of world development is the integration process in Central Asia, participants of which were former Soviet republics. In 1994, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty on single economic space, and thus have a "Central Asian threesome, which initiated further development of the integration process in the subregion.

In April 1995, at the meeting of Heads of State in Shymkent was adopted the same again, "Central Asian threesome " The economic integration in 2000, the experts believe that "the Central Asian threesome" - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan - has a future a real integration as a factor in the Asian area, and in the CIS. However, developing an integration process in Central Asia is quite contradictory in terms of complex relationships with Russia and the CIS.

Control questions and practical tasks:

1. What are the main features of the integration processes in Asia?

2. Characterize a process of integration in the APR as an intercontinental one.

4. How can you forsee integrating relations between ASEAN and the EU?

5. Disclose contents of APEC.

6. What are the objectives pursued by the U.S. in APEC?

7. As Ukraine's relations consist of Asian integration groupings?

8. Comment on the originality of the Barcelona process.

9. How does Vietnam's accession to ASEAN affected the consolidation in the group?

10. What are the trends of integration came into force around ASEAN at the beginning of 21^st centure?