Asia-Pacific Interactive Tariff Database Launch

Washington, D.C., January 31, 2011 – The National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) and the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) are pleased to announce the official launch of the pilot phase of the Asia-Pacific Interactive Tariff Database. The Asia-Pacific Interactive Tariff Database provides business in the Asia-Pacific region with a tool to make cost-saving sourcing decisions based on up-to-date tariff information.

“This database will save Levi Strauss & Co. time and money by organizing information from many of our key trading partners in an easily searchable manner. Access to accurate and up-to-date information allows us to remain competitive in the global business economy,” noted Laurie Goldman, senior manager of worldwide government affairs and public policy with Levi Strauss & Co.

In 2009 APEC economies agreed to make their customs and tariff information more transparent and available to the public. Members of the business community expressed interest in taking that important progress one step further by creating a robust trade database that would be fully searchable based on Harmonized System classification numbers.

This long-term initiative supported by NCAPEC and USCIB, aims to draw attention to the lack of publicly available information on tariffs and preferential rules of origin which have made it difficult for companies to take full advantage of the many free trade agreements negotiated in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The APEC economies account for 58 percent of all U.S. exports, while our direct investment in the region totals some $820 billion,” said USCIB Executive Vice President Ronnie Goldberg. “As we seek to increase our competitiveness, create good-paying jobs at home and achieve President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years, companies will need access to new sources of information and market intelligence. This database is an important step in that direction.”

The pilot phase of the Asia-Pacific-wide tariff database is expected to test the concept of the database and obtain feedback and input from participating companies including 3M, Levi Strauss & Co. and Pfizer. The pilot will be active for a period of about six months and is expected to fully launch during the U.S. hosting of APEC in 2011.

The Asia-Pacific Interactive Tariff Database will improve customs transparency, support export growth and make it easier for companies large and small to do business in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a concrete example of the work being done in APEC to facilitate trade and to advance economic integration in this dynamic part of the world, stated Monica Whaley, president of the National Center for APEC.

Integration Point, a global trade compliance solution provider, supplies the platform powering the Asia-Pacific Interactive Tariff Database. As part of the platform, the Integration Point Global Trade Content team maintains up-to-date tariff information such as applied tariff rates, rules of origin, preferential trade treatment and scheduled future tariff rates among other vital sourcing information.