Hong Kong will spare no effort to stage a successful Hong Kong Ministerial meeting and work closely with other World Trade Organisation members for a timely and successful conclusion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, Director-General of Trade & Industry Raymond Young says.

If successfully concluded, the Doha Round could increase Hong Kong market access through elimination of, or at least substantial reduction of, tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Tariffs of up to US$983 million can be saved if duty on Hong Kong's top 10 domestic export sectors is removed.

The removal of non-tariff barriers will also increase Hong Kong goods' competitiveness in overseas markets and bring indirect benefits to Hong Kong services sectors -including transportation, storage, insurance and banking - and to Hong Kong investors on the Mainland.

Speaking at a roundtable luncheon organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Mr Young said hosting the Hong Kong Ministerial in December underlines the city's active and constructive participation in the WTO and raises Hong Kong's international profile as a bastion of free trade.

"It demonstrates the successful implementation of 'One Country, Two Systems' and provides an excellent opportunity to showcase Hong Kong as Asia's world city", he added.

Market-access issues HK's priorities

Mr Young said Hong Kong's priorities in the Doha Round were market-access-related issues, notably market access for non-agricultural products and for services.

In the ongoing services negotiations, Hong Kong will continue to seek comprehensive and commercially meaningful market access commitments in industries where Hong Kong enjoyed comparative advantage, such as telecommunications, audiovisual, maritime transport, logistics, and financial services.

Hong Kong will also take part in the discussions to remove other countries' discriminatory measures that were inconsistent with the most-favoured-nation treatment principle, and to ensure that their domestic regulations would not cause unnecessary barriers to trade in Hong Kong services.

"We will use the opportunity to clarify and improve WTO rules, including those related to anti-dumping, subsidies and regional trade agreements to ensure that the rules will remain relevant and conducive to trade and investment. The trade facilitation measures under negotiation will strengthen Hong Kong's entrepot status and Hong Kong's position as a logistics hub," Mr Young added.

He reiterated every endeavour will be made to hold a successful Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong to pave the way for an early completion of Doha Round. Dialogue has been maintained with local and overseas non-governmental organisations to facilitate their expressions of views during the conference.