The Third Apec Ministerial Meeting On The Telecommunications And Information Industry (Telmin3) 3-5 June 1998, Singapore

 Ministerial Declaration On The APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement For Conformity Assessment Of Telecommunications Equipment　

We, the APEC Ministers responsible for the telecommunications and information industry, gathered at Singapore, 3-5 June 1998,

heeding the call of APEC Leaders 

at Osaka, November 1995, for the development and implementation, on an elective basis, of a model mutual recognition arrangement on conformity assessment for telecommunications equipment; and 

at Subic, November 1996 to identify sectors where early voluntary liberalisation would have a positive impact on trade, investment and economic growth in the individual economies as well as in the region, and to submit recommendations on how this could be achieved;

noting the identification by APEC Ministers responsible for Trade at Vancouver in November 1997, of a mutual recognition arrangement on conformity assessment for telecommunications equipment as a sector for early voluntary liberalisation; wherein Ministers responsible for Trade had urged that this work be concluded in the first half of 1998, with a view to commencing implementation wherever possible in 1999; 

noting also that our Leaders and the APEC Ministers responsible for Trade had stated at Vancouver in November 1997 that the development and implementation of sectoral initiatives, such as a model mutual recognition arrangement on conformity assessment for telecommunications equipment, should take into account the different levels of economic development and diverse circumstances of all APEC member economies; 

applauding the important preparatory work undertaken by the APEC Telecommunications Working Group (TEL) to complete the Framework for such an arrangement and the Enhanced APEC Guidelines for Regional Harmonisation of Equipment Certification by September 1997;

satisfied that, consistent with the leadership shown by APEC in initiating the World Trade Organisation Information Technology Agreement in 1996 and in ensuring the success of the WTO Basic Telecommunications Services Agreement in 1997, the conclusion of this Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Conformity Assessment for Telecommunications Equipment will:

- build upon wider international efforts to reduce technical barriers to trade ; 
- contribute to telecommunications standardisation efforts undertaken by the International Telecommunication Union; and 
- prove a stimulus to other trade facilitation measures within the APEC region

acknowledging that this Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Conformity Assessment for Telecommunications Equipment is an expression of intent by the participating economies to work together in their mutual interest, and does not, in and of itself, create legally binding international obligations for economies;

DO HEREBY DECLARE their strong endorsement for this, the first ever Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Conformity Assessment for Telecommunications Equipment among APEC economies, as a major milestone in their efforts to facilitate trade in telecommunications within the APEC region and to expand the Asia-Pacific Information Infrastructure for the benefit of all APEC economies; and

DO FURTHER DECLARE in the form shown in the Appendix attached hereto, the indicative timeframe by which their individual economies will voluntarily participate in this Mutual Recognition Arrangement.