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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

Hong Kong's external trade relations. The Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), which aims at the orderly development and expansion of international trade in textiles, provides the framework within which Hong Kong negotiates bilateral restraint agreements with textiles importing countries.

On April 23, 1986 Hong Kong became the 91st contracting party to the GATT. Hitherto, Hong Kong had already been participating in GATT activities from within the United Kingdom delegation. The United Kingdom spokesman for Hong Kong was invariably a Hong Kong Government official. The arrangement had enabled Hong Kong to take positions that were different from those of the EEC, and, by implication, the United Kingdom. With effect from April 23, 1986, the Head of the Hong Kong Government Office in Geneva has been appointed as the permanent representative of Hong Kong to the GATT.

In the United Kingdom declaration concerning Hong Kong's separate GATT contract- ing party status, the British Government formally informed the Director-General of the GATT that Hong Kong possesses full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in the GATT. At the same time as the British Government made this declaration, the Chinese Government also made a parallel declaration that, with effect from July 1, 1997, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will meet the requirements for a separate customs territory to be deemed to be a contracting party and therefore may, using the name of 'Hong Kong, China', continue to be deemed to be a separate contracting party to the GATT. By their respective declarations, therefore, the British and Chinese Governments have taken the necessary concrete steps to secure the continuance of Hong Kong's participation in the GATT and the MFA in the years leading to and beyond 1997.

Hong Kong Government Offices Overseas

The Hong Kong Government maintains offices in Geneva, Brussels, Washington, New York, San Francisco and London mainly to safeguard and advance Hong Kong's economic and commercial interests overseas.

The Geneva Office represents Hong Kong in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The office keeps under review developments arising from the deliberations in the GATT and other international organisations in Geneva and has been heavily involved in the past year in the New Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The Brussels Office represents Hong Kong's economic and related interests concerning the European Com- munity and the governments of Member States (other than the United Kingdom). The New York, Washington and San Francisco offices keep under review economic or other developments, proposed legislation, and other matters in the United States of America that might affect Hong Kong's economic interest in general and two-way trade with the United States in particular. The New York and San Francisco offices incorporate the Industry Department's industrial investment promotion offices.

Compared with other overseas offices, the London Office carries a much wider range of functions. It acts as a point of direct contact between Hong Kong and British Government departments, Members of Parliament, the media and organisations with an interest in Hong Kong and keeps under review British commercial, economic and industrial develop- ments and official thinking on international trade policies, and advises the Hong Kong Government on the likely repercussions of these developments. In addition, the office represents Hong Kong, wherever necessary, in commercial relations consultations for certain European countries, and it incorporates an industrial promotion office to advise

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