12
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1994
MR CHAU ADDED THAT SINCE IMPLEMENTATION WOULD NOT BEGIN UNTIL LIFE IN 1995 AT THE EARLIEST, TEXTILES QUOTA WOULD REMAIN A FACT OF HONG KONG FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER 11 YEARS.
AS FOR THE IMPACT OF HIGHER GROWTH RATES, MR CHAU NOTED THAT IN RATE FOR PRACTICE, THAT WOULD MEAN HONG KONG'S AVERAGE QUOTA GROWTH THE U.S. MARKET WOULD INCREASE FROM ABOUT 1.8 PER CENT TODAY, PER CENT THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF THE TRANSITION.
TO TWO
THE RATE WOULD BE 2.6 PER CENT FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS, AND 3.3 PER CENT FOR THE FINAL THREE.
INDUSTRY
MR CHAU PREDICTED THAT KEY ELEMENTS OF THE PROBABLY REMAIN IN HONG KONG, BUT LOW-SKILLED JOBS WOULD TEND TO TO LOWER-WAGE ECONOMIES AS A RESULT OF THE GATT PACKAGE.
WOULD MOVE
IN EASING HE ASSURED THAT THE GOVERNMENT WOULD PLAY ITS PART THE PROCESS THROUGH SUCH INITIATIVES AS THE EMPLOYEES' RETRAINING SCHEME.
"THE TRANSITION AHEAD WILL BE GRADUAL,
甲申
MR CHAU SAID.
URUGUAY ROUND STRENGTHENS MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM
THE SUCCESSFUL
CONCLUSION OF THE URUGUAY ROUND IS A CLEAR SETBACK FOR PROTECTIONISM, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF TRADE, MR TONY MILLER, SAID TODAY (TUESDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE INDIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, HE SAID THE URUGUAY ROUND PROVIDED FOR A STRENGTHENED MULTILATERAL TRADING SYSTEM WHICH WOULD FACILITATE FURTHER LIBERALISATION AND EXPANSION OF WORLD TRADE, GIVING A MUCH-NEEDED BOOST TO THE SLUGGISH WORLD ECONOMY.
A MAJOR STEP IN STRENGTHENING THE MULTILATERAL TRADE SYSTEM IS THE CREATION OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION (WTO).
THE WTO WILL HAVE A STATUS AND A PERMANENT CHARACTER COMPARABLE TO THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND THE WORLD BANK, HE SAID.
IT PROVIDES CLEARER RULES AND DISCIPLINES AND ENVISAGES A AND STRENGTHENED COMMON INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ENCOMPASSING THE GATT ALL THE AGREEMENTS NEGOTIATED UNDER THE URUGUAY ROUND.
"THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION WILL BE GOOD FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE, LIKE THE GATT BUT BIGGER AND BETTER AND MORE LIKELY TO PROMOTE TRADE AND PREVENT DISPUTES."
"WE HAVE WORKED HARD FOR THE CREATION OF THIS NEW AND STRONGER INSTITUTION, SAID MR MILLER. "AND WE LOOK FORWARD
TO
PLAYING AN
ACTIVE PART IN IT."
/MEMBER GOVERNMENTS