The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is a multilateral
trade organization consisting of 21 Pacific Rim countries.
It convenes annually, with hosting rotating between member
nations. Resolutions of APEC forums are non-binding on the
governments of the member nations.
APEC was first convened on
November 6-7, 1989 in Canberra, Australia to continue discussions
that would eventually culminate in the creation of the World
Trade Organization at the end of the Uruguay Round. A dozen
countries sent delegations and, as may be expected
of a large gathering of government functionaries, they accomplished
nothing except a resolution confirming their belief that trade is good
and their desire to continue the discussion at a later date.
APEC is organized into several ministries each of which focuses on a
single broad industry. These produce reports of market conditions,
industry size and activity, and market share as well as recommendations
for future policy decisions affecting their respective industries.
There are seperate ministries for Education, Telecommunications and
Technology, Marine Conservation, Tourism, Fisheries, and Energy.
The policy papers put forth by the various ministries are not legally
enforceable, but most member nations view APEC as a critical piece of
their trade strategy and most members broadly adhere to the forum's
positions.
The member nations of APEC, with year of admittance:
Host country for the APEC forum by year:
- 1989 - Australia
- 1990 - Singapore
- 1991 - South Korea
- 1992 - Thailand
- 1993 - United States
- 1994 - Indonesia
- 1995 - Japan
- 1996 - Philippines
- 1997 - Canada
- 1998 - Malaysia
- 1999 - New Zealand
- 2000 - Brunei Darussalam
- 2001 - China
- 2002 - Mexico
- 2003 - Thailand
- 2004 - Chile
- 2005 - South Korea
Sources: APEC secretariat, http://www.apecsec.org.sg/; US State Department, http://www.state.gov;
Organization of American States, www.oas.org