SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1988
GSP DECISION REGRETTED
UNITED STATES
THE DECISION OF THE SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES ADVANTAGES FOR CERTAIN REGRETTABLE BUT NOT A DISASTER.
TO WITHDRAW GENERALISED HONG KONG PRODUCTS 13
THIS WAS SAID TODAY (SATURDAY) BY MR K.Y. YEUNG, ACTING SECRETARY FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY, WHO WAS COMMENTING ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT. HOWEVER, HE ADDED THAT THE FACT THAT KOREA, TAIWAN SINGAPORE, HAD ALSO BEEN GRADUATED MEANT THAT THE BALANCE COMPETITIVENESS IN THE REGION WAS STILL MAINTAINED.
MR YRUNG SAID THAT HE WAS DISAPPOINTED BY THE DECISION OF U.S. ADMINISTRATION TO GRADUATE HONG KONG.
AND
OF
THE
"WE MADE STRONG ARGUMENTS AT SENIOR LEVELS WITHIN THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION. IN THE PAST IT HAS BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE OF OUR OPEN
MARKET POLICIES.
"GRADUATING AN OPEN MARKET LIKE HONG KONG WILL SEND MESSAGE TO TRADING PARTNERS OF THE IMPORTANT INCENTIVE TO OTHERS TO OPEN THEIR MARKETS,
THE WRONG
U. .9. AND I,T WILL REMOVE AN
HE SAID.
OF GRADUATION
MR YEUNG NOTED THAT THE OVERALL ECONOMIC IMPACT ON HONG KONG WOULD NOT BE SERIOUSLY DAMAGING AS ONLY ABOUT 15 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S EXPORTS TO THE U.S. BENEFITTED FROM GSP. IN 1986 HONG KONG BUSINESSES WERE SAVED BY ABOUT HK$530 MILLION IN TARIFFS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN PAYABLE.
"EVEN THOUGH WITHDRAWAL WILL NOT HAVE A SERIOUS EFFECT ON HONG KONG'S EXPORT, WE HAD HOPED THAT THE U.S. WOULD ACCEPT THAT WE ARE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER ASIAN EXPORTING NATIONS OUR MARKETS ARE WIDE OPEN AND WE HAVE NO BARRIERS TO AMERICAN EXPORTERS.
—
HE EXPLAINED THAT GSP IS A DONOR SCHEME WHEREBY IMPORTING COUNTRIES ACCORD DUTY-FREE TREATMENT TO CERTAIN PRODUCTS TO ASSIST INDUSTRIES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. HONG KONG HAS VALUED ITS STATUS AS A BENEFICIARY OF U.S. GSP WHICH HAS HELPED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY AND DIVERSIFICATION FROM TEXTILE AND GARMENT MANUFACTURE.
THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT MOUNTED A CONSIDERABLE EFFORT TO PUT ACROSS ITS CASE IN THE UNITED STATES, SAID MR YEUNG, HOWEVER THE REALITIES OF PRESENT DOMESTIC POLITICAL PRESSURES HAD TO BE FACED.
THE MAIN PRODUCTS WHICH WILL BE AFFECTED FROM THE DECISION ARR TOYS AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT, TELEPHONE SETS, CERTAIN HOUSEHOLD ITEMS SUCH AS ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES AND COOKING UTENSILS, DATA PROCESSING MACHINES, CERTAIN TYPES OF ELECTRONIC RECORDING AND COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND WOODEN FURNITURE ITEMS.
12