THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1993
HE ADDED THAT TARIFF REDUCTIONS WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THIS INCREASE IN WORLD WELFARE.
"THE SUCCESSIVE LOWERING OF TARIFF LEVELS IN SEVEN ROUNDS OF GATT TALKS SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN 1948 HAS PROBABLY BEEN THE GREATEST SINGLE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE DRAMATIC RISE IN WORLD TRADE OVER THOSE YEARS.
"A SUCCESSFUL URUGUAY ROUND WOULD ADD ITS WEIGHT TO THAT PROCESS, SPURRING AN EXTRA US$745 BILLION A YEAR IN WORLD TRADE BY 2005, ACCORDING TO GATT ECONOMISTS," HE SAID.
HE NOTED THAT THERE WERE ONLY SIX DAYS LEFT TO THE DEADLINE ON DECEMBER 15 AND THE PRESSURE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WAS GREATER THAN IT HAD EVER BEEN.
"ONE OF OUR GREATEST CONCERNS, AS THE ROUND REACHES ITS FINALE, IS THAT IN THE LAST MINUTE DEAL-CUTTING PRINCIPALLY BETWEEN THE 'MAJORS' KEY GATT PRINCIPLES WILL BE COMPROMISED OR SACRIFICED," HE SAID.
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MR
MACLEOD HIGHLIGHTED FOUR ISSUES IN WHICH HONG KONG·· HAD A SPECIAL INTEREST, NAMELY ANTI-DUMPING, MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT, GATS (GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES) AND TARIFF REDUCTIONS.
ON ANTI-DUMPING, HE SAID HE WAS VERY CONCERNED THAT HONG KONG WOULD MISS A VITAL OPPORTUNITY TO RESTRICT ANTI-DUMPING ΤΟ ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE AS A TRADE POLICY INSTRUMENT OF LAST RESORT, TO BE USED ONLY WHERE GENUINE DUMPING WAS TAKING PLACE AND NOT AS A WEAPON то HARRASS NORMAL TRADE.
AS FOR THE MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT, HE SAID HONG KONG WAS PREPARED TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE OF A SUBSTANTIAL RESTRUCTURING OF ITS TEXTILES AND GARMENT INDUSTRY BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PHASING OUT OF THE MFA.
ON GATS, HE BELIEVED THAT THE BENEFITS WOULD BE GRADUAL BUT THE NEW SYSTEM WOULD PROVIDE GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND A MEANS TO BRING PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENTS TO LOWER BARRIERS TO SERVICE TRADE.
OF MORE IMMEDIATE BENEFIT WOULD BE THE TARIFF REDUCTIONS, HE SAID, ALTHOUGH IT LOOKED UNLIKELY THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS WOULD ACHIEVE THE TARGET GATT MEMBERS SET FOR THEMSELVES AT THE START, WHICH WAS ONE-THIRD REDUCTION IN TARIFFS.
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HE POINTED OUT THAT HONG KONG WAS PARTICULARLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RELUCTANCE AMONG SOME DEVELOPED ECONOMIES TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN TEXTILES AND CLOTHING TARIFFS WHICH WERE LIKLEY REMAIN MUCH HIGHER THAN AVERAGE TARIFF LEVELS.
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"NEVERTHELESS, WE MAY SEE HONG KONG-MADE PRODUCTS ATTRACTING OVER US$400 MILLION LESS IN TARIFFS NEXT YEAR.
"OUR COMPETITORS WILL GAIN SIMILARLY, BUT LOWER TARIFFS SHOULD MEAN LOWER RETAIL COSTS AND HIGHER CONSUMPTION OVERALL, HE SAID.
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WHAT IF THE URUGUAY ROUND FAILED? HE SAID THAT TRADE WOULD CONTINUE AND, IN THIS REGION AT LEAST, SHOULD CONTINUE TO GROW.
/HOWEVER, HE
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