ENG-2000 — Page 154

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

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Office and the San Francisco Office are responsible for promoting economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and individual states of the United States.

Participation in International Organisations

World Trade Organisation

The WTO provides for a fair, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system for trade in goods, services and trade-related intellectual property rights. It promotes the liberalisation of international trade and serves as a forum for multilateral trade negotiations and dispute settlement among its members. Active participation in the WTO's multilateral trading system is the cornerstone of the HKSAR's external trade policy.

The HKSAR is a founding member of the WTO. Its separate membership reflects the autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations, which is guaranteed under the Basic Law.

The HKSAR is a staunch supporter of free and open trade and supports the launching of a new round of multilateral trade negotiations. It believes that further trade liberalisation can help forestall regression into protectionism and provide the engine for sustained economic growth world-wide. Although a new round of trade negotiations was not launched in 2000 because WTO members continued to hold divergent views on the negotiating agenda, further negotiations in services and agriculture were launched and reasonable progress was achieved. To strengthen confidence in the organisation, the WTO established a mechanism to review and address the developing members' concerns on implementation of the WTO agreements. It was hoped that such efforts would demonstrate the value of further trade liberalisation to all members, developed and developing alike, and rebuild the momentum for launching a new round of trade negotiations in the run-up to the next Ministerial Conference to be held in Qatar, in the United Arab Emirates, on November 9-13, 2001.

In accordance with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS Agreement'), Hong Kong notified the TRIPS Council of its intellectual property laws at the end of January, and participated in a TRIPS review of these laws in June.

The HKSAR organised the first-ever WTO-related conference in Hong Kong in March to raise the interest and awareness of the local business community in the various facets of the WTO's work. More than 250 representatives from 40 local chambers of commerce, trade associations and professional bodies attended the conference.

Regional Economic Co-operation

As an integral part of the Asia-Pacific economy and an important services, financial and trading centre, the HKSAR continued to play an active role in enhancing regional economic co-operation. Its economic links with the region remained strong. In 2000, some 82 per cent of the HKSAR's total external trade was conducted with the other 20 member economies of APEC. The HKSAR participates as a full and separate member in APEC and PECC as 'Hong Kong, China'.