Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Australia
APEC's Structure
APEC Structure (PDF,17 Kb) makes it unique amongst trade and economic groupings. Unlike the WTO which is a rules-based organization with trade dispute enforcement powers, APEC uses consultation and consensus building to make progress. Policies agreed to at APEC meetings are adopted voluntarily and information-sharing between members economies and with the public is very important.
APEC's key decisions are made at a series of annual meetings. The APEC Leaders' and Ministers' Meeting is the most important event in the APEC calender. Other meetings held throughout the year are aimed at preparing issues for decision by the Leaders, as well as at carrying out directions issued by Leaders in previous years. There are regular meetings of APEC Ministers of education, energy, environment and sustainable development, finance, fisheries, human resources development, science and technology, small and medium enterprises, telecommunications, trade, tourism and transportation. The schedule for these meetings can be found on the APEC Calendar. APEC Senior Officials meet three or four times throughout the year to oversee the work of APEC fora prepare for the Leaders' Meeting and respond to directions set by Leaders in earlier meetings. Below the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) are three overarching committees and 23 Working Groups and sub-fora. APEC Working Groups are officials' level fora that pursue APEC's goal of free and open trade and investment at the sectoral level.