APEC (Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation) is a 21‑member intergovernmental economic forum that promotes trade, investment, sustainable growth and regional cooperation across the Pacific Rim. It pursues these aims through policy dialogue, capacity‑building projects and voluntary, non‑binding commitments in areas such as trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic & technical cooperation.
The Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOMs) are APEC’s principal working‑level gatherings where senior government officials steer APEC’s committees, working groups and task forces; develop recommendations, draft statements and operational decisions; and prepare items for ministers and leaders. Outcomes are normally consensus‑based, non‑binding recommendations, joint statements or action plans that inform ministerial and leaders’ meetings.
Casey Mace is the U.S. Senior Official to APEC (a State Department appointee). In that role he leads and coordinates U.S. engagement in APEC, represents the United States in APEC forums, and directs related U.S. policy work (including oversight of the State Department’s Office of Economic Policy for the region).
The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) at the State Department formulates and advances U.S. foreign policy on oceans, marine conservation and fisheries, biodiversity, climate and other international environmental and scientific issues. The Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary supports and manages that portfolio—e.g., ocean and fisheries policy, marine debris and illegal fishing, international environmental agreements, scientific cooperation and related diplomatic engagement.
At APEC, economies can agree on non‑binding, practical measures such as coordinated port and customs procedures, information‑sharing and monitoring systems, best‑practice guidelines and voluntary standards for fisheries management, regional surveillance and traceability schemes, capacity‑building projects, and commitments to reduce marine litter and strengthen timber supply‑chain transparency; APEC does not produce legally binding treaties but can launch projects and guidelines that members implement domestically or bilaterally.
The host economy (China, via Guangzhou for SOM1) chairs the year’s APEC meetings and runs logistics; it proposes priorities and chairs sessions, which gives it agenda influence, but substantive outcomes require consensus among all 21 members—so the host shapes emphasis and schedule but cannot impose binding decisions unilaterally.
From SOM1 the public should expect non‑binding deliverables: agreed draft recommendations for ministers, joint statements or chair’s summaries, workplans for working groups, project launches or approvals, and commitments to coordinate on issues (e.g., anti‑illegal‑fishing initiatives, marine‑debris projects, or market‑access work) that will be carried forward to ministerial and leaders’ meetings.