WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/WGTCP/W/139
12 October 1999
(99-4310)
Working Group on the Interaction
between Trade and Competition PolicyOriginal:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM NEW ZEALAND
The following communication, dated 14 September 1999, was received from the Permanent
Mission of New Zealand with the request that it be circulated to Members.
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Introductory Comments
Within APEC there has been a growing recognition of the need to work on structural and
regulatory issues if the goal of fostering regional prosperity is to be achieved. This work was initiated
in response to the realities of globalization and has intensified as a result of the economic crisis in the
region.
New Zealand, as Chair of APEC in 1999, has promoted a theme of "Strengthening Markets".
This theme recognizes:
- that the efficient functioning of markets is necessary for sustained economic growth;- the central role of competitive concepts in providing a framework for coherent policy
development;
- the importance of effective economic governance, public and private.
There have been two key objectives of this theme:
- the development of policy frameworks founded on competition principles, which seek
to enhance and protect the competitive process rather than the interests of particular
competitors, based on the recognition of the vital contribution made by good
governance principles in both the public and private sector;  and
- capacity building, in terms of institutions, infrastructure and skills development to
achieve sound markets.
As a key part of this overall theme, at the APEC Competition Policy and Deregulation
Workshop in Christchurch on 30 April and 1 May it was agreed to develop a set of APEC competition
and regulatory principles. Subsequent work developed and refined the principles with the end result
being the APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform  which were endorsed by
APEC Ministers and Leaders in September 1999 (see text below).
There are four core principles (non-discrimination, comprehensiveness, transparency and
accountability) and a set of action-oriented undertakings. The aim of these non-binding principles is toWT/WGTCP/W/139
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provide a basis for policy development rather than a st ringent set of specific rules. The principles will
assist in the process of introducing competitive markets within Member economies and recognize the
diverse circumstances of Member economies that seek to implement them.
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APEC Principles to Enhance Competition and Regulatory Reform
Open and Competitive Markets are the Key Drive rs of Economic Efficiency and Consumer Welfare
Recognizing the strategic importance of develo ping competition principles to support the
strengthening of markets to ensure and sustain growth in the region and that these principles provide a
framework that links all aspects of economic policy that affect the functioning of markets;
Recognizing that these principles are non-binding and will be implemented by each Member
economy voluntarily, consistent with the way APEC operates;
Recognizing that the adoption of these prin ciples for policy development needs to take
account of, and encompass the diverse circumstances of economies in the region and the different
priorities that arise from these circumstances;
Recognizing that Member economies will have flexibility to take into account their diverse
circumstances in implementing this framework;
Recognizing that policy and regulation in APEC economies may properly have objectives
other than promoting competition;
Recognizing that exemptions and exceptions fr om a competition driven regulatory framework
may be necessary and that these will be implemented in a way that minimizes economic distortions,
giving consideration to this framework;
Recognizing that an improved competitive environment is beneficial to small and medium
sized enterprises, and that extensive consultation has occurred with the business community in
developing these principles;  and
Drawing upon relevant inputs from various APEC  fora and the Pacific Economic Cooperation
Council's "Principles for Guiding the Development of a Competition-Driven Policy Framework for
APEC Economies".
APEC endorses the following principles:
Non-Discrimination
(i) Application of competition and regulatory principles in a manner that does not
discriminate between or among economic entities in like circumstances, whether
these entities are foreign or domestic.
Comprehensiveness
(ii) Broad application of competition and regulatory principles to economic activity
including goods and services, and private and public business activities.WT/WGTCP/W/139
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(iii) The recognition of the competition dimension of policy development and reform
which affects the efficient functioning of markets.
(iv) The protection of the competitive process and the creation and maintenance of an
environment for free and fair competition.
(v) The recognition that competitive markets require a good overall legal framework,
clear property rights, and non-discriminatory, efficient and effective enforcement.
Transparency
(vi) Transparency in policies and rules, and their implementation.
Accountability
(vii) Clear responsibility  within domestic administrations for the implementation of the
competition and efficiency dimension in the development of policies and rules, and
their administration.
Implementation
To achieve this*, APEC Member Economies will make efforts to:
1. Identify and/or review regulations and measures that impede the ability and
opportunity of businesses (including SMEs) to compete on the basis of efficiency and
innovation.
2. Ensure that measures to achieve desired objectives are adopted and/or maintained
with the minimum distortion to competition.
3. Address anti-competitive behaviour by implementing competition policy to protect
the competitive process.
4. Consider issues of timing and sequencing involved in introducing competition
mechanisms and reform measures, taking into account the circumstances of
individual economies.
5. Take practical steps to:
- Promote consistent application of policies and rules;
- Eliminate unnecessary rules and regulatory procedures;  and
- Improve the transparency of policy objectives and the way rules are
administered.
6. Foster confidence and build capability in the application of competition and
regulatory policy.  This will be achieved, inter alia , by:
- Promoting advocacy of competition policy and regulatory reform;
                                                     
* Recognizing that efforts will seek to avoid the du plication of work of other fora, as appropriate.WT/WGTCP/W/139
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- Building expertise in competition and regulatory authorities, the courts and
the private sector;  and
- Adequately resourcing regulatory institutions, including competition
institutions.
7. Provide economic and technical cooperation and assistance and build capability in
developing economies by better utilising the accumulated APEC knowledge and
expertise on competition policy and regulatory reform, including by developing
closer links with non APEC sources of technical expertise.
8. Build on existing efforts in APEC to help specify approaches to regulatory reform
and ensure that such approaches are consistent with these principles.
9. Develop programmes, including capacity build ing and technical assistance, to support
the voluntary implementation of the approaches to regulatory reform developed by
relevant APEC fora.
10. Develop effective means of cooperation between APEC economy regulatory
agencies, including competition authorities, and ensure that these are adequately
resourced.
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