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Sheung Hon Lee
ECON-E303
Professor Ryan Lee
28 April, 2016
The Rise and Demise of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) came into existence in 1989 as a
reaction to the new state of interdependence among the economies in the Asia-Pacific region
(Hewitt 38). The first meeting of the group was rather unofficial. APEC has risen to become a
major and crucial conduit that promotes open and free economic integration in the region.
The cooperation is made up of 21 member countries alongside the political units in the border
region of the Pacific Ocean. Upon its formation, APEC has struggled to reduce the trade
barriers between its member states and further promote trade investments within the region.
Its missions and principles of supporting economic growth in the Asia- Pacific region guides
the cooperation. Besides economic stability of the region, the cooperation has played a
critical role in the liberalization of the world economy reducing any form, of trade barriers
among its member economies. Twelve countries began as members of APEC upon its
formation, a figure that has increased gradually to twenty-one member states in 2016 (Hewitt
106). Canada, Japan, Australia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore
Indonesia, and Brunei Darussalam were the founding members of APEC (Steven 300).
However, in the face of the new world order and the ever-growing trend of liberalization and
globalization, APEC included more members in order to strengthen its foothold.
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Upon the recognition of the value of the top-level union of the members convened by
APEC, the United States of America invited the APEC leaders in order to engage in a
discussion of the major issues within the corporation. The gathering of these leaders of the
economy has established itself as the single most significant institution within APEC. The
gathering brings into perspective the visions enshrined in APEC’s objective while also
creating a good platform for the meeting of leaders to facilitate dispute resolution. APEC has
established itself as a very important economic block as observed from its influence in the
United States. America requires the stability and continued operation of APEC for its
continued prosperity. The economic block is of interest to the United States due to its
commitment to dismantling all the existing barriers of trade that limit free trade among its
