http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/11/09/apec-turns-20-new-opportunities/ Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:50:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/11/09/apec-turns-20-new-opportunities/comment-page-1/#comment-76665 Satish Chand Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:18:08 +0000 http://www.eastasiaforum.org/?p=7770#comment-76665 This is an excellent piece. Open regionalism, the conceptual foundation of APEC, is hard to fault. And the ambitions set out by Andrew Elek for APEC are both sensible and attainable within the next decade. My lone criticism of Andrew’s list is that it is not ambitious enough! Why not add the notion of free labour mobility within APEC? This will raise several pairs of ears; and I bet more than the number of eyebrows it is likely to raise. But the notion of a single market is inconceivable without free labour mobility. And let us acknowledge the fact that labour mobility within APEC is as restricted as anywhere else in the world. Try and get a work permit to work any where in the region and you will know what I mean. The Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement between Australia and New Zealand demonstrated that these restrictions can be lifted, possibly gradually and between consenting parties. And APEC’s vision of a single market provides enough motivation for such a transition. A start with PNG being admitted within the CER would be a promising beginning to such a goal. Why not broaden this concept within the umbrella of APEC? This is an excellent piece. Open regionalism, the conceptual foundation of APEC, is hard to fault. And the ambitions set out by Andrew Elek for APEC are both sensible and attainable within the next decade. My lone criticism of Andrew’s list is that it is not ambitious enough! Why not add the notion of free labour mobility within APEC? This will raise several pairs of ears; and I bet more than the number of eyebrows it is likely to raise. But the notion of a single market is inconceivable without free labour mobility. And let us acknowledge the fact that labour mobility within APEC is as restricted as anywhere else in the world. Try and get a work permit to work any where in the region and you will know what I mean. The Closer Economic Relations (CER) Agreement between Australia and New Zealand demonstrated that these restrictions can be lifted, possibly gradually and between consenting parties. And APEC’s vision of a single market provides enough motivation for such a transition. A start with PNG being admitted within the CER would be a promising beginning to such a goal. Why not broaden this concept within the umbrella of APEC?

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