15^th Transportation Working Group Meeting
Santiago, April 19-23, 1999

Agenda Item 5
TPT/15/PLEN/5/SC/CT/REV.1

held on April 21, 1999 in Santiago, Chile

Republic of Korea

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Steering Committee on More Competitive Transportation Industry (including infrastructure) (MCTI) held its 3^rd meeting on April 21, 1999, during the 15^th TPT-WG Meeting in Santiago, Chile.

Participating economies

The meeting was chaired by Korea as Coordinator, and was also attended by Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Thailand; Chinese Taipei; and the United States.

Projects completed since last TPT-WG meeting

No projects have been completed since the 14^th Transportation Working Group Meeting.

Project evaluations and progress reports completed since last TPT-WG meeting

• Road Transport Harmonization ProjectTPT 02/98

Progress reports were provided to the March 23-24, 1999 meeting of the Budget and Management Committee (BMC) on the following projects:

• Ports Database Project (Japan)TPT 01/99

• Road Transport Harmonization Project, TPT 02/99
  Phase V, Stage 1, Pilot Study (Australia)

• Program to Assist the Implementation ofTPT 01/99T
  Electronic Commerce for Commercial Messages (Australia)

II. ONGOING PROJECTS – NEXT STEPS

1. Port Experts Group (Japan)

The PEG’s request for APEC funds to upgrade and relocate the Port Database from Chile to Japan was finally approved at the March 1999 BMC meeting. Japan was successful in obtaining a budget for maintenance and equipment during 1999, following the relocation of the Port Database from Chile. In the meantime, the PEG undertook to look into the possibility of sharing the operational costs among member economies from the year 2000 and onward.

Having been updated at the PEG’s 6^th meeting during the 15^th TPT-WG meeting, all member economies agreed to request that the Plenary ask the BMC to release the APEC funding as soon as possible, given that Chile’s ability to fund the project may be exhausted as early as June, 1999.

In other areas, the Steering Committee was informed of and noted that, although the number of ports registered to the database has increased significantly, the increase of data input remains relatively insignificant. The PEG agreed that greater efforts should be made to increase data input from member economies by getting members of related international organizations more involved and inputting more data.

The PEG also noted that the Port Database should be made more useful and attractive to port users, which might increase their participation, and agreed to improve the Port Database to reflect more of the private sector’s interests as the next step in the project.

The Steering Committee also noted the Port Experts Group’s progress on the other five themes and that more input is needed to those areas.

• Agree that the Lead Shepherd consult with the BMC to make the APEC funding for Port Database available as soon as possible, in order to ensure the smooth updating and relocation of the Port Database.

• Urge that each economy make more effort to input data into the Port Database, as well as discussion papers on five other themes.

2. Intermodal Task Force (U.S.A.)

The Intermodal Task Force (ITF) forwarded three proposals for the consideration and approval of the Steering Committee, two APEC funded and one self-funded.

The first is the Identification of Needed Intermodal Skills and Development of Required Training Program, which seeks to develop knowledge of and expertise in intermodal transportation planning and systems implementation. The first phase of the project will consist of 4 steps. The need for additional training will be decided on upon completion of the first phase. The project will be given consideration by the Human Resources Development Steering Committee, and is tentatively scheduled to commence in January 2000.

The second project is the Intermodal Transportation Conference scheduled for summer 2000. Participants are to include intermodal experts from the Asia-Pacific region, from both industry and government. The ITF will seek both APEC funding of US $14,500. The University of Washington will contribute US $5,000 if the project is approved.

The third proposal involves the development, distribution and analysis of an intermodal passenger survey, aimed at identifying common barriers to efficient intermodal passenger movement, and possible solutions. Participating economies will forward individual questionnaires, and final results will be presented at the 16^th TPT-WG in Hong Kong, China. This is a self-funded project.

In addition to these proposals, there were various other presentations given at the meeting. In particular, Dr. Jess Browning gave an update on the Transportation Shipping Harmonization and Integration Planning System (TSHIPS), which will develop a computer model that can perform cost/benefits analyses for intermodal investments and will also deal with management and operational considerations. It was reported at the last meeting in Seoul that this project is on schedule with data collection about 90% completed. Scheduled for completion in August 1999, the results and written report will be provided at the next meeting in Hong Kong, China.

• Submit to SOM the funding request for the Intermodal Transportation Conference.

• Endorse the development, dissemination, and analysis of the Intermodal Passenger Survey to identify common barriers to efficient movement, and identify potential solutions.

3. Road Transport Harmonization Project (RTHP) (Australia)

The Steering Committee noted that the International Vehicle Manufacturers Association (OICA), International Motor Cycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) attended the meeting of the RTHP Group as official guests for the first time. The involvement of these international organizations represents another milestone in the activities of the Group ensuring contributions from the business/private sector.

The final report from the consultant and the Evaluation Report for RTHP Phase IV (TPT 02/98) were noted by the Steering Committee. This report, which includes the analysis of road vehicle certification and recall arrangements used in APEC economies, together with an update of RTHP Phase III, is now available on the TPT-WG website.

The Steering Committee noted the 1st progress report for RTHP, Phase V, Stage 1 (TPT 02/99) from the consultant, the Japanese Automobile Standards Internationalization Center, and the Progress Report to BMC. This Phase of the project seeks to assist member economies to actively participate in the United Nations ECE Working Party 29 and, working with Australia and Thailand, provide advice and develop steps to achieve effective certification systems and harmonized vehicle regulations to enable free trade for automotive product in the region.

The Steering Committee was advised that the RTHP Group had developed a new project Proposal for RTHP, Phase V, Stage 2, for commencement in 2000. Stage 2 seeks to extend the work of Stage 1 to all APEC economies. The Proposal is sponsored by Australia and co-sponsored by Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

The RTHP Group received a briefing from the Convenor of the Steering Committee for the EVSL Automotive Dialogue, proposing that a representative of TPT-WG brief the Dialogue on RTHP to facilitate discussion about how the harmonization work on road vehicle regulations can be advanced. The RTHP submitted a brief for transmission to the Automotive Dialogue Steering Committee (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.3a).

Members reported progress in their economies towards realizing the outcomes of the TPT-WG Collective Action Plan concerning road vehicle harmonization. The reports from the member economies, together with progress being made by the international community, provide encouraging signs that the objectives of the project will be realized.

The Steering Committee was advised that Australia and Thailand had agreed to make a Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Conformity Assessment for Automotive Product based on the model MRA developed by the TPT-WG. The signing of the MRA is scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia on 22 April 1999.

• Note the final report of the consultant and the APEC Evaluation Report for RTHP Phase IV (TPT 02/98).
  
• Note the progress report of the consultant and the APEC Progress Report of 15 February 1999 for RTHP, Phase V, Stage 1 (TPT 02/99).
  
• Endorse the New Project Proposal RTHP, Phase V, Stage 2 (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.3b).
  
• Agree that the RTHP Group brief the EVSL Automotive Dialogue at its meeting in Indonesia 26 and 27 July 1999.

4. Electronic Commerce (Australia)

Australia submitted the following papers for consideration by the Steering Committee:

1. Progress report on TPT-WG electronic commerce initiatives (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.1)
2. Discussion paper on the future development of the APEC TPT-WG website (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.1a)
3. Progress report for phase 1 of the program to assist the implementation of electronic commerce for commercial messages (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.1)

Electronic Commerce Seminar:

Australia reported on the Electronic Commerce Seminar held on Tuesday, 20 April 1999.

The Seminar achieved its objective of stimulating greater interest in the electronic commerce work of the TPT-WG than has been the case at recent meetings of the Working Group. Australia recorded its great appreciation to Chile for excellent administrative arrangements for the seminar and also to all speakers who generously donated their time to make the seminar a success.

Australia drew attention to the fact that the TPT-WG needs to consider whether it will continue to do electronic commerce work and suggested that the answer depends on whether economies are willing to work intersessionally, to send electronic commerce experts to TPT-WG meetings, to volunteer to lead actions included in the Collective Action Plan, and to develop plans for the removal of institutional and legal requirements for paper documents.

Recommendations:

The Steering Committee recommends that Plenary:

• Record its appreciation to Chile for making the arrangements for the Seminar.

• Note that, in the absence of increased participation in the electronic commerce work of the Working Group, it will not be possible to make any more progress on the paperless trading initiative or the collective action plan.

• Ask all member economies to nominate electronic commerce experts to participate in intersessional work on electronic commerce and participate in electronic commerce work at meetings of the Working Group.

Progress Report on Electronic Commerce Initiatives:

Australia noted that the matrix of institutional and legal requirements for paper documents has been updated and that it is now up to economies with impediments recorded in the matrix to lead the way by developing plans to remove those requirements by 2005. Australia further noted that the collective action plan, which has 6 agreed actions, has no volunteer economies (other than Australia) to lead these actions, and that no progress can be made until other economies volunteer to lead.

Recommendations:

The Steering Committee recommends that Plenary:

• Encourage all economies to consider the action to be taken to remove legal and institutional requirements and to provide progress reports to the next meeting of the Working Group.

• Ask all economies to consider if they can lead any of the collective actions included in the Collective Action Plan.

• Note that Australia will put forward recommendations for continuation or cessation of the electronic commerce work in the TPT-WG at the next meeting of the Working Group.

TPT-WG Website:

Australia reported statistics on the use of the TPT-WG website, noting significant increased usage in March leading up to the 15^th meeting of the Working Group. The economies making greatest use of the website are Australia, the United States, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Thailand. Australia thanked Hong Kong, China for its willingness to use the website for registration and the distribution of documents for the 16^th meeting of the Working Group.

Recommendations:

The Steering Committee recommends that Plenary:

• Encourage economies to submit to the web site administrator electronic copies of all hard copy documents produced for TPT-WG meetings and for all intersessional activity.

• Encourage economies to submit web site addresses for transportation ministries in each economy to enable hot links to be established.

• Encourage economies to provide executive summaries for all documents which are more than 50 pages.

• Encourage the Chairs of all expert and project groups to submit to the web site administrator an electronic copy of the record of the meetings held in Santiago, including a summary of resolutions from the meetings, details of participants in the meetings, and details of all current projects being managed by the expert and project group.

• Encourage the Chairs of each of the Steering Committees provide electronic copies of Steering Committee reports for meetings held in Santiago to the website administrator.

Progress report on Phase 1 of the program to assist implementation of electronic commerce for commercial messages

A summary of the main points presented in the progress report was provided, as follows:

• a contract for the project is expected to be finalized shortly;
• the project is presently on target for commencement by the middle of 1999; and,
• as only 6 economies have volunteered to participate in the project, there is an opportunity for two more economies to participate.

Recommendations:

The Steering Committee recommends that Plenary:

• Encourage other member economies to consider participating in the project.

5. Maritime Initiative (Japan)

The Steering Committee examined the progress of the Maritime Initiative which considered two major agenda items in its meeting at the 15^th TPT-WG.

MI undertook a clarification exercise of the responses received on the Transparency Exercise Questionnaire (TEQ), to which member economies were encouraged to respond at the last meeting. Several issues were brought up in this exercise and those members that wish may submit further modifications. In addition, Japan, the lead economy, asked those economies that did not already submit their responses to do so. It will then revise the Assorted Responses to TEQ (MI/99.1/2.REV.1) and make the revision (MI/99.1/2.REV.2) available on the TPT-WG website. MI will undertake a voluntary self-analysis work in the forthcoming MI meeting. The Steering Committee welcomed the progress which has been made on the TEQ work.

The Steering Committee agreed that the TPT should report to the Ministers on the completion of the Maritime Mission Statement, the TEQ, and the Facilitation of International Shipping project, and asked Ministers to provide comments and suggestions on the future work of Maritime Initiatives. The Steering Committee will also ask economies that have not responded to do so within 4 weeks of the 15^th TPT-WG Meeting, although this deadline will be flexible. Concern was expressed about the utility of placing the responses to the TEQ on the TPT-WG web site, given that many economies did not respond.

It is noted that a presentation on Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) Convention by a representative of the IMO, which was agreed to at TPT-WG 14, could not be arranged for the TPT-WG 15 due to conflict in schedules between the IMO and APEC. Canada will arrange for the IMO to give a presentation at the next meeting in Hong Kong, China. China expressed its disagreement concerning inviting IMO, and it was suggested that the Chinese delegation would request further instruction from their capital. China will take into consideration previous experiences and practices of TPT-WG, and provide its input on this issue as soon as possible.

The MI discussed Australia’s proposal for a new project, "Facilitation of International Shipping" (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.5) to be funded by the TILF Special Account.

Recommendations:

The Steering Committee recommends that Plenary:

• Note the MI’s work on the TEQ.

• Agree that a report should be made to the Ministers on the work of the MI, including the Mission Statement, TEQ, and the proposed Facilitation of International Shipping project, and that the Ministers be requested to provide their comments and suggestions to be used as reference for future work.

• Approve the Facilitation of International Shipping Project.

6. Voluntary reports on Air Services

In keeping with the decision reached at TPT-WG 13, the Steering Committee received progress reports on implementation of the Air Services Group (ASG) recommendations from Australia (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.1), Brunei Darussalam (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.2), Chile (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.3), Chinese Taipei (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.4), New Zealand (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.5), Peru (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.6), and the U.S.A. (TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/4.7). Those reports detailed overall progress towards meeting the ASG recommendations.

Canada indicated that it would provide a report at the 16^th TPT-WG.

IV. APPROVAL OF NEW PROJECTS

The following new projects are recommended to Plenary for approval:

• RTHP Phase V, Stage 2 (Australia) – TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.3b

• Intermodal Passenger Survey (Canada)

• Intermodal Transportation Conference (U.S.A.) - TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.2

• Facilitation of International Shipping (Australia) - TPT/WG/15/CTI/SC/3.5

 V. OUTSTANDING ISSUES

There were no outstanding issues to be forwarded for consideration by the Plenary. 

VI. MANAGEMENT ISSUES

None.

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