XN000022-1997-01-16 — Page 7

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Hong Kong's free trade policy continues

Hong Kong will continue to practise unwaveringly a free trade policy and to play a leading role in world trade liberalisation after June 30, the Director-General of Trade, Mr Alan Lai, said today (Thursday).

Speaking at a luncheon meeting of the Hong Kong Exporters' Association, Mr Lai said: "The Joint Declaration (JD) states clearly that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) shall retain the status of a free port and continue a free trade policy.

"The changeover will not affect Hong Kong's bilateral relations with our trading partners as the JD provides clearly that the Hong Kong SAR may on its own maintain and develop economic and trade relations with all states and regions.

"In accordance with the JD and the Basic Law, the Hong Kong SAR will continue to be a separate customs territory with full autonomy in the conduct of our external commercial relations and that it shall continue to participate, using the name 'Hong Kong, China', in international organisations including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC).

"Hong Kong has been participating actively and constructively in the international trade forums and will continue to do so when it becomes an SAR," Mr Lai said.

He noted that Hong Kong had achieved very positive results in playing a leading role in world trade liberalisation in both the WTO and the APEC last year.

Mr Lai said that 28 members of the WTO including Hong Kong and economies in the process of acceding to the WTO, which accounted for some 83 per cent of world trade in information technology (IT) products, concluded an agreement in the First Ministerial Conference in Singapore last December to eliminate tariff on a wide range of IT products on a Most Favoured Nation basis by the year 2000.

"Parties to the IT agreement agreed to start implementing the first rate reductions no later than July 1, 1997, provided that participants representing about 90 per cent of world trade in IT products have no later than April 1 this year notified their acceptance," he said.

"Its Implementation will greatly enhance market access opportunities for our manufacturers and exports in those countries and economies which participate in the agreement.