APEC is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 1999. Established in 1989 as "the first broad regional institution for intergovernmental dialogue on economic policy issues" in the Asia-Pacific region, APEC has emerged as one of the most powerful regional groups in the world economy, assuming more than 50% of world GDP and trade volume, respectively. In the period since its inception APEC has gone through three development stages: (1) official inauguration and institutionalization (1989-1992); (2) preparation of visions and action plans (1993-1996); (3) implementation (1997-now). Throughout these three stages of its evolution, economic cooperation agenda within APEC has been focused primarily on its two pillars of cooperation -economic and technical cooperation (Ecotech) and trade and investment liberalization and facilitation (TILF) -with financial and currency cooperation gaining importance only after the outbreak of the Asian crisis. In relations to non-members, APEC officially adopted open regionalism as an instrument to contribute to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system governed by the GATT/WTO. Therefore trade policy measures of APEC are serving as the interface between APEC and the WTO. With its big economic (market) size and intense trade relations both within the region and with non-member countries, APEC has acquired some degree of influence in global economic issues. However, APEC has had in reality enormous difficulties in reaching internal consensus on whether and how to implement open regionalism both within the Asia-Pacific and in relations to non-member countries. In the light of the WTO's Millenium Round, this paper elaborates trade policy options available for APEC in relations with the multilateral trading system under the WTO. Main conclusions are as follows: First, In the short- and mid-term, APEC has to contribute to the successful launch and completion of the Millenium Round, whereas in the long-term APEC should concretize and, in possible, revise the operational definition of open regionalism. Second, in the short-term strategy the author regards the successful integration of the ATL initiative of APEC into the official agenda of negotiations of the WTO's Millenium Round as the most important contribution of APEC to the WTO system. Third, developing a single position of APEC on the coverage, modality of the Millenium Round will be an additional contribution of APEC. Especially, balancing the developing and developed memebr economies' interest within APEC will ease the potential tensions between developing and developed member countries of the WTO in the upcoming new round. Fourth, APEC has to reconsider and/or concretize the concept of open regionalism. A well-designed and well-implemented open regionalism concept has the potential to contribute to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system. However, APEC has had so far enormous difficulties in reaching agreement how to practically implement the concept. For this, APEC has three options to choose: implement open regionalism in the form of unconditional MFN treatment; making APEC's liberalization to happen at same speed and coverage as that of the WTO; abandon open regionalism and adopt its own regionalism. With three options showing their own advantages and disadvantages, the central message of the paper is that APEC has to clarify its long-term vision that is viable for the new century.

Executive Summary Ⅰ. Introduction Ⅱ. Two Pillars of APEC's Economic Cooperation: Ecotech and TILF Ⅲ. Open Regionalism as a Conduit between APEC and the WTO 1. Background Discussion 2. Open Regionalism of APEC and Its Relationship to Multilateralism Ⅳ. APEC's Strategy towards the WTO 1. Short-and Mid-term Strategy: WTO Millenium Round and APEC 2. Long-term Strategy: Regionalism, Open Regionalism or Multilateralism? Ⅴ. Conclusions References Korean Abstract