41.   The question of more liberalized trade in agricultural products has emerged as the most contentious issue to be discussed at the summit of APEC member economies in Osaka.

42.   The steep appreciation of the yen against the dollar has caused havoc in developing nations in Asia, all of which are APEC member economies.

43.   They said it was important to enhance policy cooperation to make member economies more resilient to shocks from outside the region as their interdependence increased.

44.   The US proposal was first presented to APEC at its trade ministers meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, where it was initially opposed by some Asian member economies.

45.   There would be no punitive measures against member economies who fail to implement initiatives since APEC was based on consensus, Ramos added.

46.   While differing over the ITA, APEC senior officials endorsed a three-point blueprint listing measures to tear down trade and investment barriers among member economies.

47.   While several international agencies have joined the activities of some groups, including fisheries and tourism, there are currently no non-APEC member economies taking part.

48.   Leaders of member economies of APEC, the only forum where China and Taiwan sit at the same table, meet annually to discuss largely trade and investment issues.

49.   Macaranas said the Philippines raised these concerns during an informal APEC meeting in Singapore last week, but he did not say how the other member economies reacted.

50.   Member economies have until October to submit their full plans for tariff reduction.