	Overview of APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was founded in 1989 for the purpose of promoting trade and investment liberalization in the Asia-Pacific as a means of fostering sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the region. APEC has three distinct features among multilateral trade organizations. First, all the liberalization measures taken by its members are voluntary. The United States is the host in 2011; Russia will be the host in 2012. The November APEC Meetings in Honolulu

Between November 8 and 13, 2011, the United States will host several senior-level APEC meetings in Honolulu, HI. The 5 th SOM will be followed by a Finance Ministers' Meeting on November 10, to be hosted by Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner. On November 11, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will co-host the APEC Ministerial Meeting. At past meetings, the U.S. President held one or more separate bilateral meetings with other leaders, usually including a meeting with the leader of the host member. It is unknown if President Obama will hold similar meetings this year. The agenda of the Economic Leaders' Meeting usually is based on the host's theme for the year, implying this year's meeting will center on regional economic integration, sustainable development, and regulatory convergence. In addition, the United States may use the event to inform the APEC members about the status of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations and possibly publicly announce a significant landmark in the TPP talks. She then attended the EAS meeting in Hanoi in October 2010, at which it was disclosed that the United States—along with Russia—would become a full member in 2011. The heightened U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region has raised questions about APEC's continued role and relevance in U.S. foreign policy, particularly given the growing number of alternative regional events or organizations at which the United States can present its views. In addition, along with reemphasizing the importance of APEC to the region, the Obama Administration has spoken extensively about the "central role" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Asia-Pacific relations. APEC and the EAS

Six days after the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting ends, President Obama is scheduled to attend the 6 th East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali, Indonesia. The APEC Economic Leaders Declaration of 2006 "acknowledged the role of high-quality, consistent, transparent and comprehensive Regional Trade Agreements/Free Trade Agreements (RTAs/FTAs)" and instructed APEC's officials to "undertake further studies on ways and means to promote regional economic integration, including a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term prospect, and report to the 2007 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Australia." The expectation is that the nine representatives of the current APEC members involved in the TPP negotiations—Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam—will announce the broad framework of a TPP agreement during the APEC meetings in Honolulu. Beyond the concerns expressed by other countries, analysts have frequently raised the more general issue of TPP's compatibility with APEC's historical approach to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. According to the U.S. officials, APEC's primary role would be as an incubator for developing cutting-edge approaches to emerging trade issues (such as incorporating innovation and supply chain issues into FTAs), and the TPP would be the formal trade agreement which would adopt the agreed-upon, mature, formal results of APEC's trade and investment innovations. Some ASEAN members and analysts remain skeptical about the U.S. commitment to ASEAN; some suspect that U.S. interest in ASEAN is primarily focused on U.S. relations with China. The meetings to be held in November—the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, the U.S.-ASEAN Summit, and the East Asian Summit—may provide an opportunity for the Obama Administration to clarify the roles and relevance of each of these fora. Agenda for 2011 APEC Meetings

The Obama Administration has indicated that it wishes to prioritize three issues during the APEC meetings in November. Issues for Congress

Congressional interest in APEC has generally focused on three issues—implications for U.S. trade policy in general, potential effects on relations with China, and budgetary matters. The United States agreed in 2007 to join APEC's Business Travel Card (ABTC) program, which allows business travelers pre-cleared, facilitated short-term entry to participating member economies. H.R.
The United States will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's (APEC's) 19th Economic Leaders' Meeting in Honolulu, HI, on November 12 & 13, 2011. APEC was founded in 1989 to facilitate trade and investment liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region. During the four days prior to the Economic Leaders' Meeting, APEC will hold the fourth Senior Officials Meeting for 2011, the Finance Ministers Meeting, and the APEC Ministerial Meeting. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, and U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk are expected to attend their respective meetings. These meetings will culminate a year in which the United States hosted dozens of meetings.
Although the United States was among APEC's founding members, some U.S. officials have been frustrated with APEC's approach to trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. From its inception, APEC has used a consensus-based, non-binding approach in which its members unilaterally adopt non-discriminatory liberalization and facilitation measures. In much of its trade policy, the U.S. government has generally utilized an approach based on negotiated binding agreements applicable only to the parties to the agreement. As such, there has been frequent discussion about APEC's proper role in U.S. trade policy.
This discussion remains relevant in 2011 as three other multilateral fora have become increasingly important to the United States. The United States, along with eight other APEC members, is attempting to negotiate a comprehensive regional trade agreement—commonly referred to as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—that the Obama Administration has promoted as a model free trade agreement for the 21st century. In addition, the 6th East Asia Summit (EAS), to be held in Bali six days after the APEC Leaders' Meeting, will be the first at which the United States will participate as a full member. Reflecting the growing importance the U.S. government places on relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), President Obama is scheduled to attend the 3rd U.S.-ASEAN Summit, also in Bali, the day before the EAS Summit. The rising prominence of other Asian or Asia-Pacific events has also brought into question APEC's relevance and the necessity of the President's attendance at the annual Leaders' Meeting.
As host in 2011, the United States chose three main themes for the year—economic growth, green development, and cooperation and convergence of trade regulations. In addition, it is expected that there will be one or more major announcements regarding progress on the TPP negotiations during the Economic Leaders' Meeting. For more than a year, the Obama Administration has stated that it hopes substantial progress will be made on the TPP agreement in time for the APEC meetings in Honolulu. More recently, Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has indicated that his country is contemplating joining the TPP negotiations.
Congressional interest in APEC has generally focused on three issues—implications for U.S. trade policy in general, potential effects on relations with China, and budgetary matters. The voluntary unilateral trade and investment measures offered or agreed to by the United States at the annual Economic Leaders' Meetings may have implications for U.S. trade laws and regulations, as well as for the federal budget. For example, in the 112th Congress H.R. 2042 is intended to help advance the U.S. commitment in 2007 to join the APEC Business Travel Card program. In addition, U.S. initiatives under the auspices of APEC may impact relations with China. Finally, as an APEC member, the United States contributes to the organization's operational budget, and as host for 2011, the United States was responsible for much of the funding for the APEC meetings held throughout the year.