26.
The world economic recession generated pressures fo
increased protectionism. Fortunately for Hong Kong, attempts
to weaken the General Agreement on Tariffs and
and Trade and to
allow the selective restraint of imports made no headway at the
1982 Ministerial Meeting of the GATT. On the contrary,
Ministerial Meeting reaffirmed the support of governments an open trading system as essential to world economic recovery.
the
for
27.
One specific result of the GATT Ministerial Meeting
was the decision that the
the GATT Secretariat should conduct an urgent study of the problems relating to trade in textiles and clothing. The Multi-Fibre Agreement,
Agreement, under which Hong Kong's
exports of
of these products are limited by bilateral restraint agreements, represents a derogation from the principles of the The main objective of the study is to examine the possibility of liberalisation, and the eventual removal of all discriminatory restraints from this sector of world trade. study is due for completion in 1984.
GATT.
28.
The
Last year I mentioned the renegotiation of the textiles agreement with the European Economic Community then in prospect. In the end, the new agreement between the two sides,
although more restrictive than the previous agreement, was substantial improvement on the terms originally demanded by the EEC. Broadly, the agreement allows Hong Kong to maintain existing levels of trade, but the reduced growth rate permitted under the agreement will mean that, when economic activity and demand in the European Economic Community pick up, Hong Kong's ability to increase its exports to meet the higher demand will
be restricted. However, the terms were the best available to
Hong Kong in the circumstances.
10
/29. If