(5) Competition policy Following the adoption of an agreed code of minimum standards for competition policy by 2010, no APEC governments to take anti-dumping measures against imports from any other APEC participant. (6) Administrative procedures Full compatibility of customs documentation and clearance procedures with EDI of all information T) Transport Full harmonization of air traffic control procedures and safety standards. No restrictions, other than for safety reasons, on landing rights for carriers with majority of shares owned by APEC nationals or by nationals of economies which impose no restrictions on landing rights to APEC-based carriers All APEC governments to accede to the same international legal conventions for the carriage of goods by air, sea and land (8) Telecommunications Mutual recognition of all technical Lelecommunications standards. No restrictions to trans-border transmissions National treatment for access to local common carrier networks. (9) Tourism Introduce "smart card passport and electronic processing of international passengers by 2000 Visa free travel by residents of APEC participants within the region for stays of up to
6 months.
(10 Professional qualifications For an agreed list of professional and vocational qualifications set up procedures for APEC-wide recognition, based on accreditation of courses: or passing an accredited test. (11) Other commercial legislation or regulation: Agreed minimum standards of disclosure and auditing of commercial entities above some minimum size An APEC Code for the taxation international income, based on common features of most double taxation agreements. (12) Standards (other than already mentioned): By 2005. APEC governments to have completed a programme of mutual recognition harmonization with at least the same coverage as the EU achieved by end-1992. or By 2020, to have completed a programme comparable to that of the EU at that time. These goals are certainly ambitious. but all of them can be reached by 2020. While no region has reached such a comprehensive degree of economic integration, every one of these targets has been adopted and, in most cases, already attained, through regional co-operation somewhere in the world This paper explores whether such goals can be achieved in a region as vast and diverse as the Asia Pacific. The diversity of the resource endowments of the region economies provides enormous potential for mutually beneficial trade and intcrnational investment. At the same time, differences in culture, levels of technological capacity. forms of government and legal systems can make co-operation difficult. It has been recognised, from the outset, that a very flexible approach will be required for economic co-operation which can cope with such diversity. combined with rapid changes in the influence of participants. As APEC embarks on the road to free and open trade and investment, it is timely to consider the following questions. Can the dismantling of impediments to economic transactions among Asia Pacific be consistently the ovcrriding interest of all Asia Pacific economies in an open, rules-based multilateral trading system?