Towards a Strategic Direction Paper
for the APEC Transportation Working Group

This concept paper was developed in preparation for the Strategic Direction Paper Brainstorming Session that will take place at the 16^th APEC Transportation Working Group Meeting, in Hong Kong, China, November 8-12, 1999.

September 8, 1999

Towards a Strategic Direction Paper
for the APEC Transportation Working Group

1. Introduction

At its 15^th Meeting, in April 1999, the APEC Transportation Working Group (TPT-WG) decided to develop a "Strategic Direction Paper", and to initiate work on it by holding a "brainstorming" session at its 16^th meeting, in the following November.

The purpose of the Strategic Direction Paper will be to identify the TPT-WG’s future priorities based on a strategic vision. This paper will form the basis for future alterations to the TPT-WG’s Action Program, and could result in a new Vision Statement to be discussed by APEC Ministers of Transport at their next meeting.

The TPT-WG recently completed a Mandate Review exercise, through which it analysed its achievements in areas identified for action in the past. The Strategic Direction Paper will build on the more historical analysis carried out in the Mandate Review exercise by identifying areas in which the Working Group should continue to work, new areas of emphasis, and areas where work should be discontinued.

The paper will examine two principal thematic areas. The first will focus on the APEC principles and goals on which the existence of the TPT-WG is based, and the extent to which the Working Group’s activities are meeting these priorities. The second will examine the issues that are of key importance to the business/private sector in the transportation industry, and the extent to which these are or should be considered within the TPT-WG’s Action Program.

2. The TPT-WG’s APEC Principles and Goals

The following is a brief synopsis of the APEC principles and goals which form the basis of the TPT-WG’s Action Program.

In the 1994 Bogor Declaration, APEC Economic Leaders adopted the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, to be pursued promptly by further reducing barriers to trade and investment and by promoting the free flow of goods, services and capital among their respective economies. This is the overarching goal of APEC, and the strategic direction of the Transportation Working Group should take it into account.

The APEC Ministers’ Joint Statement, following their 1995 meeting in Washington, DC, identified the following priority areas for guiding the development of the TPT-WG’s Action Program:

1. facilitating the harmonization, coordination, and transparency of transport policies, regulations, procedures and standards;
2. promoting a more cooperative framework among member economies while achieving a more competitive environment among industry players, on the basis of fair, equitable, and mutually realizable opportunities for the transport industry to improve efficiency and reliability and enhance consumer choices;
3. encouraging the reduction of barriers to trade in goods and services and investment in transport in a manner consistent with WTO principles, where applicable, and without detriment to other economies;
4. promoting business/private sector participation, as appropriate, in the development and provision of transport infrastructure and services;
5. facilitating improvement in productivity, skills and efficiency of labor and management in the transport industry;
6. promoting a policy framework in which the transport industry is fully able to take advantage of technological change, and which has regard for the socio-economic effects of the introduction of new technology;
7. consulting with and, where appropriate, supporting rather than duplicating the work of other international organizations involved in transport;
8. promoting timely, rational investment in the region's transport infrastructure;
9. encouraging the efficient use of existing infrastructure through the application of appropriate trade and transport facilitation techniques and electronic data interchange;
10. promoting transport system safety and security in the region;
11. encouraging the adoption of practices that accord high priority to environmentally sustainable transport systems; and
12. recognizing the transportation needs of all citizens, particularly those of handicapped persons.

The 1995 Osaka Action Agenda (OAA) set out principles for the implementation of the Bogor Declaration, both in the areas of Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation (TILF), and in Economic and Technical Cooperation (ECOTECH).

With respect to TILF, the OAA emphasizes that "the APEC liberalization and facilitation process will be comprehensive, addressing all impediments to achieving the long-term goal of free and open trade and investment." In the area of services, the "APEC economies will achieve free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region by: a) progressively reducing restrictions on market access for trade in services; and b) progressively providing for inter-alia most favored nation (MFN) treatment and national treatment for trade in services." Specifically referring to transportation, the OAA calls for APEC economies to achieve action in a number of existing project areas. Such action has been carried out, as discussed in the Mandate Review Paper.

In the area of ECOTECH, the OAA sets priority on:

1. facilitating the harmonization, coordination and transparency of transport policies, regulations, procedures and standards;
2. promoting timely rational investment in transport infrastructure;
3. encouraging the efficient use of existing infrastructure through the application of appropriate trade and transport facilitation techniques;
4. promoting transport system safety and security;
5. promoting, on the basis of fair and equitable access to markets, a more competitive transportation operating environment and cooperating to address institutional constraints which affect the provision of transportation services; and
6. facilitating the improvement of the productivity, skills and efficiency of labor and management in the transport industry.

Added to the above, at the 1996 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Subic, the Philippines, the following organizing themes and priorities were enunciated for all APEC activities:

1. developing human capital,
2. fostering safe and efficient capital markets,
3. strengthening economic infrastructure,
4. promoting environmentally sustainable development,
5. encouraging greater involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises, and
6. harnessing new technologies.

Following their 1997 meeting in Victoria, Canada, the APEC Transportation Ministers reaffirmed their support for the priority areas outlined in the Bogor Declaration, the Washington Joint Statement, the Osaka Action Agenda, and the Subic Declaration.

As part of the Strategic Direction Paper process, the TPT-WG should examine the extent to which achievements have occurred in relation to each of the aforementioned priority areas. Furthermore, if the Working Group decides that it should achieve greater action under certain of these priorities, or under new priority areas, it should also examine how this might be achieved within the existing Steering Committee structure.

Appendix A contains a synopsis of the aforementioned APEC principles and goals, and of related TPT-WG projects. Clearly, there is overlap among some of these principles and goals.

3. Key issue areas in the transportation sector

As in any area where technology plays an important role, the transportation field is subject to constant change due to innovation. As a result, in order to remain relevant, the TPT-WG must be conscious of new developments and growth areas that are of importance to the business/private sector.

The following are theme areas, presented in no particular order, seen as being of particular importance to the transportation industry in the present day:

• Reducing transport-related costs in merchandise trade, and improving system efficiencies for the delivery of merchandise.
• Establishing a policy/regulatory framework that eliminates non-tariff barriers to open market access and delivers a competitive and efficient operating environment.

• Making the most of the information/telecommunications revolution.
• Promoting the use of new technologies that will improve efficiency and safety in transportation.

• Harmonizing safety standards, policies and regulatory frameworks.

• Lessening the impact of transportation on global warming.
• Lessening the impact of transportation on air quality in urban areas.
• Disaster preparedness and avoidance.
• Promoting more environmentally sustainable transportation systems.

• Alleviating traffic congestion problems in urban areas.
• Examining interface between modes for freight and passenger traffic.

• Ensuring that the region’s human resources are prepared for the technological challenges of the day, and are trained in compliance with internationally recognized standards.
• Achieving the mutual recognition of training standards and professional qualifications.
• Ensuring the integration of women into the region’s work force.

In developing the Strategic Direction Paper, the TPT-WG should consider the above issues, as well as others that remain to be identified. The paper should identify the extent to which the current Action Program is addressing these factors, and whether more emphasis should be placed on any of them.

In this discussion, it will be particularly important to obtain the perspective of the region’s business/private sector. The Strategic Direction Paper should attempt to identify areas of priority to business in the region and the extent to which the TPT-WG’s Action Program is addressing or will address these issues.

4. Next Steps - A "brainstorming" session

The TPT-WG’s Strategic Direction Paper should consider two major issues:

• In the first instance, to what extent is the TPT-WG’s Action Program promoting the priorities of APEC in general, and, in particular, those established by the APEC Ministers of Transport? Following on from this, are any priorities not being covered? Have any been covered sufficiently, to the extent that they may be dropped from the Action Program?

• Secondly, to what extent is the TPT-WG’s Action Program addressing the priorities of the region’s business/private sector, and of the transportation industry in general? Business/private sector input will be essential to this discussion. Furthermore, in order to consider this issue, the Working Group will first need to clearly identify what these priorities are.

During TPT-WG 16, a "brainstorming" session will be held to allow all economies to provide input into the Strategic Direction Paper. The ideas put forward at this session will form the backbone of the paper.

The program for the Brainstorming Session is attached as Appendix B. The session will address the two fundamental questions outlined above through separate segments. There will also be an introductory address and a final segment in which the major conclusions of the day’s discussions will be summarized. Furthermore, throughout all segments, participants will be asked to consider the following overarching themes:

• Where do we go from here?
• How might the TPT-WG ensure that clearly-defined strategic directions are incorporated into all new project proposals and overall work?
• How might the TPT-WG better organize itself in order to more effectively achieve its outcomes?
• How might the TPT-WG increase the extent to which it works with other APEC fora?
• How can the TPT-WG increase the overall participation of all of its member economies?

In order for the Brainstorming Session to be an effective tool in elaborating the future strategic directions of the TPT-WG, all economies must play an active part. It is important that all delegations closely consider the ideas explored in the previous pages, and come to the session prepared to engage in debate concerning which should be the principal priorities of the Working Group in its future activities, and how these priorities might best be served through the Action Program.

The Brainstorming Session and the Strategic Direction Paper form part of a renewal process, by which the TPT-WG will reaffirm its commitment to fundamental principles, while at the same time mapping out new directions on the basis of these principles. At the same time, it is not our purpose to turn our backs on past work. Since its inception, the Working Group has achieved much, as described in the recent Mandate Review, and is currently involved in many worthy projects. Through the brainstorming session, we will identify those areas in which we must continue to work, those in which we must initiate work, and those in which sufficient work has already been done.

Comments and suggestions on this paper are welcome.
Please forward your ideas to:

Ted Cherrett
Lead Shepherd
APEC Transportation Working Group
Fax: (Canada-613) 991-6422
Email: cherree@tc.gc.ca

This page was last updated on 1 Feb, 2008