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Second-Term Review of APEC's Progress towards the Bogor Goals: APEC Region

1775-Cover_Bogor Goals Assessment 2016 - APEC Region 1Nov2016
Published Date November 2016
Type of Publication Reports
Publication Under APEC Secretariat, APEC Policy Support Unit
Accessed 12636
Pages 96
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Description

The Second-Term Review of Progress towards the Bogor Goals includes two sections: 1) the general assessment of the progress of the APEC region as a whole; and 2) the review of each economy’s recent progress in the areas included in the Osaka Action Agenda.

The assessment of the APEC region as a whole examined its trade and investment performance; the evolution of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation indicators; and the changes in growth and development statistics. Some of the main findings are as follows:

- Trade and investment flows by APEC economies have expanded greatly since the 1990s, but trade has slowed down since the global financial crisis
- In general, tariffs have fallen significantly, but some sectors still face high tariff rates
- There is an increasing trend in the application of non-tariff measures affecting trade
- Services restrictions have been falling in recent years, even though levels of restrictiveness vary across economies and sectors
- Negative perceptions on restrictions facing foreign investors are more prevalent now. However, governments have been implementing measures to improve the investment climate
- There have been positive efforts in trade facilitation in the APEC region
- Important steps to facilitate investments in APEC, but investors are still facing obstacles which increase their costs
- Progress in economic growth and social outcomes, but employment levels have not recovered since the global financial crisis
- APEC has mixed outcomes on environmentally sustainable growth