The ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC) was established in 1989 due to the increasing interdependence among Asia Pacific economies. This Forum promotes open trade and practical cooperation among Member Economies. The purpose of APEC is to foster economic growth and a sense of community in the Asian Pacific Region.

APEC is comprised of 21 Members which are part of the Asia-Pacific Region. These are: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People s Republic of China, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Philippines, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States of America and Viet Nam.

Chile became a full member of APEC during the Ministerial Meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 1994, after participating in the working groups during one year as a guest Economy.

Chile s participation in APEC answers to the country s trade policy objectives and is in line with open trade which is a focal point of Chilean integration policy.

Likewise, the increasing trade with the members of the Forum played an important role in the decision of becoming a part of APEC. Another reason for joining is the fact that large part of the main foreign investors in Chile were also APEC Members (United States, Canada, Australia and Japan).

During the first semester of year 2003, trade between Chile and APEC reached around 8,597 million dollars, representing a growth rate of 11%, compared to the first semester of 2002.

APEC was the main economic group destination of our exports during the first semester of this year, representing over 54% of Chile's total exports and doubling the participation of important groups, such as the European Union and NAFTA (each one with a 25% participation). This situation was due to the increase of exports over 15% to APEC Member Economies. The most active destinations were Hong Kong (148%), Russia (70%) and New Zealand (67%), however, the United States is still the main destination of the Chilean exports to APEC with a 35%participation in the exported value, followed by Japan and China with 21% and 16%, respectively.

Industrial and mining products are the most significant exported goods. The copper, mining and salmon industry had the largest participation during the first semester of the year 2003. Methanol 102%) and refined copper exports (41%) evidenced the highest growth rate during the semester, although our main export products to the APEC Economies are still copper cathodes, which represented 923 million dollars in exports during this period.

On the other hand, the APEC Economies are ranked second in terms of destination markets of our imports, representing 38% of the total amount. During the first semester, imports to APEC grew in 5%; Brunei with 271% is the most significant destination, followed by Peru at 118% and Hong Kong at 80%, although the United States maintains the first place of Chilean imports from APEC Economies with over 1,250 million dollars, a figure that meant a slight decrease (-2%)compared to the same semester of the year 2002. In connection with imported goods, either intermediate products (51%) and those for consumption (26%)share the largest participation, the first evidenced the highest growth (11%) during said semester. Likewise, imports of vehicles and petroleum were the most relevant during the first semester of this year; in this context the latter s growth rate (409%) was one of the highest for such period.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Chile has maintained a surplus in the balance of trade with our APEC partners, which reached 2,223 millions dollars during the first semester, 2003, proving, in this sense, that this is undoubtedly one of our important trade partners. Particularly, considering that almost 2,600 millions dollars in products from the Chilean industry were exported to the Asian-Pacific economies during that semester, while more than 1,600 millions of intermediate goods were imported from these same destinations.

In 2004, Chile will be the host Economy of the Forum. The informal SOM (APEC Senior Officials Meeting) which will review the work program for 2004 will take place in December. Then, numerous activities will be carried out, developing the APEC year and responding to the permanent work agenda, Member Economies concerns and our country s thematic agenda for its chairmanship.

Customs participates in APEC as a member of the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP).

In January 2004, the National Director of Customs, Mr. Raúl Allard Neumann, will assume as the SCCP Chair.

Customs will become the SCCP Secretariat, so it will be responsible of organizing two Meetings for the 21 Member Economies delegates, generally represented by two people, and additionally attended by representatives of the WCO and WTO.

One of the main APEC Forum s objectives is the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures, in order to facilitate cross-border trade in the Asia-Pacific region. For this purpose the forum created the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) in 1994, which depends directly on the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI).

The task entrusted to this Sub-Committee has been guided through certain principles that must lead the customs activity in terms of achieving such objectives. Among those principles are: facilitation, accountability, consistency, transparency and simplification of customs procedures and regulations.

The SCCP work meetings are organized according to the Collective Action Plans (CAPs) which referrer to the following issues: harmonization and tariff structure with HS Convention, simplification and harmonization of the basis of the Kyoto Convention, adoption and support of UN/EDIFACT paperless trading, implementation of an advanced classification ruling system, risk management techniques, guidelines on express consignment clearance, customs integrity, customs business partnership, public availability of information, adoption of the principles of the WTO Agreement, adoption of TRIPS Agreement, implementation of clear appeals provision and provision of facilities for temporary admission.

The First Meeting will be held from February 25 to 27, and its agenda considers a revision of the 14 CAPs, as well as discussing different issues related to customs activity. Likewise, Customs is preparing certain subjects that will be presented during the Meeting and that are established as work methods complying with the objective of trade facilitation without neglecting control and enforcement inherent to Customs. A number of expositions are being prepared on diverse issues, such as Single-Window System for Chilean Foreign Trade , Export Process in Chile , Customs role in Trade Agreement negotiations and Matrix of Origin .

From September 27 to 29, a Customs-Business Meeting will be held in Viña del Mar organized by the ACBD (APEC Customs-Business Dialogue). This dialogue is an effective method implemented by the SCCP for fostering the understanding, cooperation and trade facilitation between the private sector and customs in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The subject for year 2004 will be the development of a better communication between both parties with a view to make facilitation trade measures compatible with new security guidelines that, in some way, make trade transactions more expensive. Besides, there s the intention of stressing trade facilitation and advanced divulgation of new regulations and procedures.