Moreover, based on the experience in other cases such as the European Community and North America, we believe that private sectors throughout the region will respond vigorously to enunciation of such a vision and will facilitate its achievement by accelerating their own trade and investment activities. We believe that our program is not only practical but highly feasible. The Asia Pacific region is already growing dynamically. Trade and investment are already expanding rapidly. Our Group believes that the private sector remains the most dynamic force for economic change in the region and that there can be major further gains from removal of the substantial barriers to trade and investment that still exist.
Regional liberalization can promote global liberalization, as already noted.
All members will benefit from new institutional arrangements to avoid the risk of new barriers, especially to investment where no protective international regime exists today. There are thus a series of significant positive payoffs from creating an Asia Pacific Economic Community of the type that we recommend. However, our Eminent Persons Group proposes a far-reaching new vision for APEC primarily because we see three potential threats to the region which could jeopardize continuation of its dramatic progress of the past three decades. First, the open global trading system centered on the GATT has been eroding for a decade or more. and could continue to do so. Every APEC member, including the largest, depends heavily on trade and open markets.