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INDUSTRY AND TRADE

certificates of origin where required. Other government-approved certificate issuing or- ganisations are the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Chinese Manu- facturers' Association of Hong Kong, and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong.

During the year, Hong Kong followed the United Kingdom in revoking import prohibitions against Argentina. Through the Import Prohibition (Argentina) (Revocation) Regulations 1985, the prohibition imposed on the import of goods from Argentina or goods of Argentinian origin since April 1982, was revoked.

Hong Kong Trade Facilitation Council

An independent body incorporated in 1981, the Hong Kong Trade Facilitation Council (TFC) was set up to promote, stimulate and assist the facilitation of international trade procedures and the documentation and information flows associated with them. It is partly subvented by the government and its members comprise representatives of the government, and of trade and industrial organisations. In recent years, the emphasis in trade facilitation work has shifted from paper to the transmission of essential trade data by sophisticated electronic means. In line with this trend, the council is developing a project called 'Hotline', which is a proposal for a comprehensive electronic system for the transfer of data between interested parties. To keep itself abreast of developments elsewhere, the council liaises closely with other international bodies and sends representatives to attend United Nations- sponsored and other international meetings from time to time.

Trade Department

The Trade Department is responsible for Hong Kong's commercial relations with foreign governments. It implements trade policy and agreements, and procedures for import and export licensing and origin certification. On matters of policy affecting trade, the Director of Trade takes advice from the Trade Advisory Board and the Textiles Advisory Board, both of which are appointed by the Governor and chaired by the Secretary for Trade and Industry. The department consists of five divisions. Three of them deal with bilateral commercial relations with Hong Kong's trading partners. Their work includes the conduct of trade negotiations and the implementation of textile agreements, as well as collecting and disseminating information on developments, especially those relating to trade policy in Hong Kong's major markets, which may affect Hong Kong. The distribution of work among these three divisions is by geographical area. The fourth division deals with the multilateral aspects of Hong Kong's external commercial relations, such as its participation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and in the negotiation of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement. The fifth division is responsible for common services, origin certification, the import and export licensing of commodities other than textiles, and a rice control scheme. The department's work is assisted by Hong Kong Government Offices in London, Brussels, Geneva, New York and Washington. Details are at Appendix 2. These overseas offices are administered by the Trade and Industry Branch of the Government Secretariat. They represent Hong Kong's commercial relations interests on a day-to-day basis and provide information on international developments which may affect Hong Kong.

Customs and Excise Department

The department is made up of two component parts - the Customs and Excise Service and the Trade Controls Group.