APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, established 1989; permanent secretariat in Singapore; 21 members, called “economies” because cooperation is trade- and economics-focused. It calls itself “the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Open regionalism

Outward-looking, flexible, consensus-based and non-discriminatory; no customs union or common external tariff — each state keeps its own trade policy. This contrasts with the EU’s rule-dense, supranational deep integration (single market, customs union, monetary union, free movement).

• Achievements — the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan cut business transaction costs; the Single Window and the APEC Business Travel Card eased cross-border trade; structural reform, connectivity and capacity-building; every economy has an equal voice, decisions by consensus.
• India — its proposal was backed by the US, South Korea, Australia and Papua New Guinea; membership was withheld partly because India lacks a Pacific coastline; India received its first observer invitation in November 2011.
• Criticism — uneven growth, inflation, ageing populations; US-China friction and the “America First” turn threaten the rules-based order APEC champions; FTAs may constrain national environmental, labour and health law, and affected Pacific Island states can be excluded from decisions.