Asia-Pacific commerce ministers mull pandemic, restoration – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

BANGKOK – (AP) – Pacific Trade Ministers discussed ways to better recover from the pandemic in an online meeting hosted by New Zealand on Saturday.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum has long focused on dismantling trade barriers. The trade ministers meeting was convened virtually due to travel restrictions in the region as coronavirus outbreaks flare up in many countries that are still struggling to obtain and use enough COVID-19 vaccines.

On the agenda was a statement in support of the movement of essential goods needed to fight the pandemic, in line with the strained global trade rules in recent years, especially during President Donald Trump’s tenure, which was the conclusion of trade deals with individual countries favored.

The trade ministers who took part on Saturday held a meeting with business leaders on Friday about ways to better cope with the health and economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

“We must ensure that trade has a role to play in combating the worst ongoing effects of COVID-19 through open and unrestricted trade in vaccines, vital medical supplies and related products,” said Rachel Taulelei, Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of those who have been vaccinated to date is in the low single-digit range. This includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially avoided massive outbreaks but are now struggling with their worst outbreaks.

APEC members Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are among the worst of all developed nations in vaccinating their populations against COVID-19, behind many developing countries like Brazil and India. Australia also performs comparatively poorly.

This week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would quickly donate an initial allocation of 25 million doses of excess vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for Asia, South and Central America, Africa and others .

This would be a significant and immediate boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which has so far shared only 76 million doses with countries in need.

While some countries have temporarily limited exports of vaccines, chemicals needed to make them, or protective equipment like surgical masks, it is unclear whether tariffs and other trade barriers were the main problem, as countries like Japan and New Zealand imposed onerous licensing requirements on vaccinations have slowed down.

The average duty rate for vaccines is a low 0.8%, according to the APEC Secretariat. However, for some other products such as freezers, vials and alcohol solutions, tariffs can be up to 30% in some countries.

While the average tariffs on vaccines within the APEC are very low (only 0.8%), the tariffs on some goods that are very important in the vaccine supply chain are much higher.

The control of patents for the vaccines has also proven to be a controversial issue.

Much is at stake: According to the latest data available, trade in vaccines and related supplies and equipment was valued at $ 418.5 billion in 2019 and is expected to skyrocket in 2020.

In addition to addressing the current crisis, the APEC meeting focused on ways to accelerate and “better build” recovery from the pandemic in order to reallocate resources to improve health care, education and social safety nets, officials said.

Although the region is still in the midst of the worst coronavirus outbreaks yet, Pacific economies are projected to regain momentum this year, growing from a decline of 1.9% in 2020 to more than 6% will increase.

APEC brings together 21 economies along the Pacific Rim, from tiny Brunei to the United States to Chile and New Zealand. One of its long-term goals is to promote an Asia-Pacific free trade area.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way without permission.