‘Alphabet soup’ the main course
Every profession has its own language: law, journalism, hospitality, medicine – and, of course, business. Often these acronyms can serve to keep people ‘‘out’’, or at least uninformed.
In the past couple of weeks, Kiwis have been having their annual exposure to some of the jargon of diplomacy and trade – the wonderful ‘‘alphabet soup’’ of Apec, EAS, Asean, RCEP, CPTPP and ANZFTA.
This is a side-effect of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other ministers visiting Singapore and Papua New Guinea for the multilateral summit season.
Some of these acronyms describe the regional organisations that drive the ‘‘summitry’’ we’ve just seen in the headlines – such as Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) or the East Asia Summit (EAS). New Zealand was a founding member of both these organisations.
New Zealand last hosted Apec in 1999, when hundreds of Aucklanders lined Parnell Rise to catch a glimpse of Bill Clinton.
Other acronyms describe the regional trade economic and trade architecture that is becoming increasingly important at a time when the WTO (World Trade Organisation) – fundamental for smaller trading nations like New Zealand – is faltering.
Agreements like the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership), AANZFTA (Asean Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement) and – should it enter into force – RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), establish rules and processes that support trade and economic development in the world’s most dynamic region.
At the centre of all of this are the 10 members of Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) which have had centuries of hard lessons balancing great powers in the region. New Zealand has been a ‘‘dialogue partner’’ of Asean since 1975.
If you look at the acronymladen list above, it seems like New Zealand is in a lot of clubs.
Incredibly, in most cases we’ve been at the party right from the start. But that’s not to say that everyone wanted us there.
We only just managed to join the East Asia Summit, thanks to advocacy from Southeast Asian countries that didn’t want to be dominated by their North Asian neighbours. Similarly for RCEP.
And it’s not something we should take for granted. We talk a lot about the need for good infrastructure investment in cities like Auckland – but we shouldn’t ignore the importance of New Zealand’s investment in global infrastructure either.
These acronyms are the foundation stone of the rulesbased international order – including the rules that allow us to sell our products to the world.
What does the rules-based international order mean? If you drive your car along a New Zealand road, you obey all sorts of rules – you have a warrant of fitness, you drive on the left, you respect give-way signs.
These same rules apply to our engagement with the world. They allow us to access things – and not only products and services.
For instance, we can travel to a vast number of countries visafree as tourists. That’s not a ‘‘right’’ but something that was negotiated and hard-won.
As just one example, the freshly upgraded CEP (Closer Economic Partnership) signed by Ardern in Singapore this month gives New Zealand visitors visa-free entry for three months.
It also enables companies with offices in Singapore to send their staff there for up to eight years.
Going back to Apec: there are growing questions about that organisation’s relevance amid a ‘‘noodle bowl’’ of trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific.
But Apec in itself is not a trade agreement. It’s a regional economic forum, and an incubator of innovative policy.
Apec is working to address some significant technological challenges that have emerged in more recent years – rules around e-commerce, differing national approaches to access to data.
We don’t hear a lot about it, but we’ve actually had a Kiwi – Dr Alan Bollard – at the helm of the Apec secretariat for six years. As Bollard has pointed out, it’s a voluntary and consensus-driven organisation.
At a time when we are seeing diverging views on trade liberalisation, having an open forum for discussion is vital.
And while the headlines at the recent summit in Papua New Guinea were all about US-China discord on trade, there was a lot of constructive discussion and heated agreement across other areas of the Apec agenda.
New Zealand will be hosting Apec in 2021 – and that’s an important year for the organisation because many of its programmes end in 2020. New Zealand has an important role to play in its future direction.
It is important all the acronyms and jargon don’t make New Zealanders switch off. We’re part of this alphabet soup because officials are trying hard to keep – and increase – opportunities for all Kiwis.
Businesses have skin in that game.