XN000022-1987-12-04 — Page 8

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1987

'MORE RESTRICTIVE'

GSP BENEFITS FOR TEXTILES

* * * * *

THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY HAS ANNOUNCED ITS SCHEME OF PREFERENCES ARRANGEMENTS FOR 1988.

GENERALISED

MR JOSEPH MORE

COMMENTING ON THE SCHEME, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRADE, SAID THE 1988 GSP BENEFITS FOR TEXTILES WOULD BE RESTRICTIVE THAN IN 1987.

WONG,

THIS IS BECAUSE THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HAVE DECIDED TO EXTEND THE PRINCIPLE OF DIFFERENTIATION (I.E. EXCLUDING GSP BENEFITS ON A PRODUCT-BY-PRODUCT BASIS) ΤΟ THE TEXTILE SECTOR WHEREBY TEXTILE PRODUCTS FROM A BENEFICIARY COUNTRY OR TERRITORY WHICH ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN 10 PER CENT OF TOTAL EXTRA-EEC IMPORTS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE GSP SCHEME IN TWO YEARS' TIME.

HE NOTED THAT FOR 30 CATEGORIES WHERE HONG KONG HAD 10 PER CENT OF IMPORTS INTO THE EEC OUR DUTY-FREE AMOUNTS HALVED IN 1988 (AND WOULD BE REMOVED COMPLETELY IN 1989).

MR WONG SAID THAT, WHILE THIS WAS UNFORTUNATE, EFFECT OF THIS REMOVAL WOULD NOT BE SIGNIFICANT SINCE PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S TRADE IN THESE 30 CATEGORIES ENJOYING GSP BENEFITS.

MORE THAN WOULD BE

THE LESS WAS

PRACTICAL THAN ONE CURRENTLY

THAT THE GSP

IN RESPECT OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS, MR WONG SAID BENEFITS FOR 1988 WOULD BE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AS THE 1987 SCHEME.

DESPITE REDUCTION IN THE DUTY-FREE AMOUNTS FOR WATCH CASES FROM APPROXIMATELY $12 MILLION TO $6 MILLION, THERE IS AN OVERALL NET GAIN OF BENEFITS OF 700,000 ECU (EQUIVALENT TO HK$6.79 MILLION) COMPARED TO THE 1987 SCHEME.

IN 1986 ABOUT 15 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S EXPORTS TO THE REC BENEFITED FROM THE GSP SCHEME. THIS TOTAL AMOUNT OF TRADE WHICH HAS SO BENEFITED WAS ROUGHLY 664 MILLION ECU OR HK$6,440 MILLION.

CSB TO MEET POSTAL UNION REPRESENTATIVES

OF

THE CIVIL SERVICE BRANCH HAS AGREED TO MEET REPRESENTATIVES THE UNION OF POST OFFICE EMPLOYEES NEXT WEEK TO DISCUSS PROPOSALS BY THE UNION RELATING TO THE POSTMAN AND POSTAL OFFICER GRADES.

THE MEETING HAS BEEN REQUESTED BY THE UNION FOLLOWING A MEETING WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF THE POST OFFICE YESTERDAY (THURSDAY).

"BOTH THE