4
Industry and Trade
COMMERCE and industry continued to expand production and exports in 1970.
Hong Kong's economic prosperity is dependent on export- oriented light manufacturing industries and a myriad of support and servicing industries operating within a free port, free enterprise environment. The industries which have developed in scope, scale and sophistication are those whose products have been able to withstand international competition without subsidy or protection, and those which are geared to servicing the manufacture of such products. The widespread skill in marketing techniques together with highly developed banking, insurance and shipping systems inherited from the historical entrepôt era have facilitated and promoted the development of manufacturing industries which are the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy.
Hong Kong has remained true to the traditions established when it was an entrepôt, with no tariffs and few restrictions on import of commercial goods. Preservation of a liberal import regime and reluctance to meet demands for protection of particular industries or to retaliate against other countries' restrictive actions are key elements in the Government's commercial policy.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, of which Hong Kong is treated as a member by virtue of the United Kingdom's status as such, can be regarded as the cornerstone of Hong Kong's commercial policy. Developments in international commercial policy in and through the GATT are therefore of great importance to Hong Kong because of their possible impact on its external trading, which in turn has a direct effect on the shape and magnitude of domestic industry and on employment. The aspirations and activities of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop- ment (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) (of which Hong Kong is an associate
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