Photo: Virginia Woolf Photography
Earlier this week officials from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) released a statement saying they would “consider removing unnecessary barriers to trade in services, particularly those services that expedite and facilitate the flow of essential goods”.
The APEC statement follows a dialogue with Rachel Taulelei, the 2021 chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council. Taulelei is a strong advocate for the unrestricted trade of vaccines and essential medical supplies, as barriers around the import and export of vaccines has been a key issue preventing wide-spread immunisation in developing countries.
Taulelei, who is also the CEO of Māori-owned food and beverage company Kono, says it’s not a time for “business as usual”, and that the pandemic must remain the highest priority.
