ABAC MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
The ABAC was formed in May 1996 with three CEOs from each of the 21 APEC members. In selecting the three U.S. members, the desired mixture is the head of a large manufacturing company, a service industry firm, and a small/medium business. ABAC members are not appointed for a fixed term, but two years, with the option to extend for a third year, is considered the optimum commitment.
The ABAC has a lean structure, with only one standing committee on Review of the APEC Action Plans. ABAC creates ad hoc working groups to address active issues and target specific recommendations to Leaders and Ministers on these topics. Each year's Chair (one ABAC member from the economy hosting/chairing APEC during that year) determines the focus and leadership of each of ABAC's working groups. U.S. Members will have responsibilities in at least one of the following Working Groups
Finance and Economics Working Group (FEWG) The Finance and Economics Working Group's focus includes capital market reform, increasing financing for small and medium enterprises, developing domestic bond markets in Asia, and setting out a framework of standards for strong domestic financial systems. The working group has also traditionally supported existing and potential capacity building programs for the financial sector. This working group provides input to the APEC Finance Ministers' process.
Liberalization Working Group (LWG) The Liberalization Working Group looks at a range of issues including progress in the WTO, implications of the growing number of Free and Regional Trade Agreements, and other multilateral means of lowering tariffs.
Facilitation Working Group (FWG) The Facilitation Working Group promotes transparency, business mobility, and standards/conformance issues. These "behind-the-border" issues are central to lowering transaction costs and improve the ease of doing business for companies moving goods and services across borders.
Technology and Information Working Group (TWG). This working group focuses primarily on building a strong foundation within APEC economies to promote innovation and information technology, with a broad range of issues including infrastructure, energy, a regulatory framework for technology development, life sciences and biotechnology, and broadening access to technology and technology infrastructure.
Action Plan Monitoring Committee. This is a standing committee of the ABAC that performs the annual review of the APEC Individual Action Plans (IAPs) and Collective Action Plans (CAPs). The Action Plan Monitoring Committee takes a focused look at APEC economies' individual action plans in order to recommend specific improvements both in the process for developing and publishing the Action Plans and the substance covered in the IAPs.
Their are three major reports released by the ABAC each year: the Interim Report to Leaders is released each May before the APEC Trade Ministers' meeting, the ABAC Report to Finance Ministers, and the ABAC Report to Leaders is released each fall before the annual APEC Summit. At the annual APEC Leaders' Meeting, ABAC then meets face-to-face with the Leaders to discuss their recommendations and issues of broader strategic interest to the region.
The National Center for APEC serves as the Secretariat for the three U.S. members. In that capacity, the National Center prepares briefing materials, staffs ABAC meetings, and conducts an annual Executive Roundtable with senior US business representatives to provide input to the ABAC members. The Center also coordinates the State Department's annual APEC CEO Roundtable, where US CEOs meet with the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce, as well as the USTR and the director of the NEC to discuss US involvement in APEC. The National Center also coordinates with the US ABAC members and their counterparts around the region to ensure that US ABAC participation flows smoothly.
The ABAC is exciting and interesting work, but as described below, the membership requires a significant commitment of executive time, staff resources and financial support.
TIME. All told, ABAC members may spend as many as 23 days (including travel to Asia) per year away from their offices on ABAC business for ABAC meetings and for outreach events in the United States.
ABAC meetings: The annual ABAC schedule usually includes four meetings: the 2007 schedule will include a US hosting of the ABAC in Seattle in February (concurrent with the Executive Roundtable meeting; see below under outreach); a late-May meeting in Tokyo and the Summit meetings in Sydney, Australia in September. (The Australians are condensing the ABAC's schedule in 2007 in order to host the annual Leaders' Summit prior to national elections, which will be conducted in late September). A typical ABAC meeting begins with a welcome reception on the first evening, an informal discussion session, an opening plenary session, committee meetings, on day two, Working Group meetings on days three and four, and finish on day four with a closing plenary, a press conference and a farewell lunch. Each principal can have an official alternate designated to serve in their place when the principal is unable to attend a meeting, but alternates do not hold the same status as ABAC members and those who send alternates to more than one or two meetings tend to significantly diminish their position on the ABAC.
Outreach: To ensure the wider U.S. business community has an effective means of informing our ABAC representatives about their concerns on APEC policy issues, the National Center hosts several outreach sessions for the ABAC members each year. The primary strategy session with US business and government is the Executive Roundtable held at the beginning of each year. Additionally, there are quarterly outreach events in Washington DC, outreach to the expatriate US business community in the cities where ABAC meetings are held, and the ABAC members also jointly chair the business delegation at the annual State Department CEO Roundtable on APEC.
STAFF. The National Center is the Secretariat for the U.S. members of the ABAC. There is one permanent senior staff person dedicated to coordinating support for the US ABAC and a team that includes seasoned Foreign Service Officers seconded by the State Department, and the Department of Commerce, Trade Policy Specialists focused on finance, technology, and trade/investment liberalization working group agendas. The National Center team attends each ABAC meeting, along with the National Center's Executive Director. U.S. ABAC members normally dedicate at least one corporate staff member to focus on ABAC responsibilities. Staff do a great deal of work between ABAC meetings to prepare papers and develop consensus positions on issues, and separate meetings of ABAC staff take place one day before each ABAC meeting as well.
FUNDS. ABAC membership for U.S. executives requires funding three kinds of expenses. The first is the cost of attending the meetings themselves -- travel, hotel, etc. for the ABAC member and corporate staff. The second expense is funding the ABAC International Secretariat, which is housed in Manila. The ABAC decided to use the APEC formula to meet the Secretariat costs, which means the United States members pay 17.9% of the total annual budget. For the previous two years, the total cost to the US has been around $79,000, which the current three US ABAC members divide equally among themselves. The three US ABAC members, can, of course, re-evaluate how these costs will be paid and how they divide the cost. Thirdly, ABAC members may be approached to sponsor various APEC-related events in the US and in the region each year, such as the large CEO Summit event coincident to the APEC Leaders' Summit, US-ABAC Outreach events and the US Executive Roundtable, among others.
Please feel free to contact the National Center for APEC if you would like to discuss ABAC membership further.
February 2007