On Tuesday, Ambassador Demetrios Marantis spoke at the Conference on Good Regulatory Practice, the first senior official meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2011. Ambassador Marantis highlighted the importance of the conference, saying top experts who attended will work to improve the regulatory environment and the ability to achieve a more seamless regional economy.
“Our cooperative work in APEC to advance understanding and implementation of good regulatory practices is a concrete and proactive way to prevent needless obstacles to trade,” said Ambassador Marantis. “And our work can equip APEC economies to better address the critical environmental, health and safety challenges of the 21st century.”
Ambassador Marantis also discussed that APEC has been at the forefront in promoting greater alignment to international standards, improving transparency, reforming testing and certification programs, and advancing development of a standards and conformance infrastructure in the region that facilitates trade and investment. Ambassador Marantis emphasized the importance of enhancing these achievements.
“We should see what works and what does not work. We should review the different types of regulatory cooperation undertaken in APEC and elsewhere, and to identify the types of practices, the variety of objectives, and to understand which have worked and why,” said Ambassador Marantis.
The United States works within APEC to open markets in the Asia-Pacific region and connect them to American exporters, including small businesses, ranchers, and farmers. This includes eliminating barriers to trade and investment, creating better business environments, and building a level economic playing field in the region that will help American businesses compete and succeed abroad.
