APEC ministers will mull green product tariffs at Vladivostok

The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Meeting this weekend in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok has put drawing up a list of environmentally friendly goods on its agenda, according to a report in the China Daily.

Ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies on Thursday agreed to present a 54-item list of goods for tariff reduction to the upcoming APEC informal economic leaders' meeting for approval, including wind turbine blades and solar batteries.

As leaders agreed in Honolulu last year, tariffs on certain green products would be cut to 5 percent or less by 2015. As a result, use of these products is expected to rise rapidly.

Wang Yusheng, former APEC senior official, said China has attached great importance to the list of green goods, as it is an issue that will benefit environmental protection and energy reduction.

Though the list to be reached won't be binding, it will definitely contribute to the region's environmental protection, said Wang.

Experts said it would be quite difficult for economies to reach a consensus on what should be included in the list as the 21 members of APEC are in different stages of development.

However, the US did express its pleasure with the development. "We're very pleased with the outcome of yesterday's trade ministers meeting. I think we really had good results on environmental goods," US Deputy Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis told AFP.

Marantis, Washington's top trade official at this week's Vladivostok meetings, said the agreement was "good for both trade and also good for promoting all the APEC economies' agenda on green growth."