Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

A major outcome from the APEC leaders meeting was the agreement to a list of 54 environmental goods that will attract a tariff of no more than five per cent by the end of 2015. As my colleague Dr Craig Emerson has said, this has been one of the most important trade liberalisation outcomes since the 1995 WTO Uruguay round of tariff cuts. It is also a significant outcome for APEC's effort to transition towards a low carbon future. It demonstrates that despite the global economic downturn, a group of economies can work together to open up trade.

Australia has been a leading advocate of the environmental goods initiative since it was first proposed two years ago. The Vladivostok outcome will allow the market for environmental goods to grow more rapidly by lowering costs faced by consumers. Australian officials, it should be noted, played an important role in ensuring that there was a large number of goods on the reduced tariff list.

APEC leaders also agreed to a major new work stream on higher education. This will enhance cooperation between APEC members and facilitate trade in education services within the region, a critical market for Australia.

Leaders also agreed on a number of measures to enhance food security—to foster innovation and to reduce the cost of doing business. We cannot overlook the size of this market. APEC's economies account for 56 per cent of the world's GDP and more than 70 per cent of Australia's trade in goods and services. By some measures the economies of APEC are our most important trading customers.