Free trader: Director-General of Trade & Industry Raymond Young says tariffs of up to $7.66 billion could be saved if duty is removed for Hong Kong's top 10 domestic export sectors.

Hong Kong is an economy which thrives on trade. Our volume of trade is actually three times that of GDP. That explains the importance of trade to our economy, Director-General of Trade & Industry Raymond Young says.

He said the World Trade Organisation's Doha round of negotiations, if successfully concluded, could increase market access of Hong Kong's exports through elimination or reduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

Tariffs of up to $7.66 billion - or US$983 million - could be saved if duty for Hong Kong's top 10 domestic export sectors is removed, he added.

Mr Young said even in the 21st century there are many barriers to trade in goods and services.

Trade barriers appear in many forms

In terms of goods, the barriers appear in the form of import tariffs levied by importing countries. They also appear in the form of quotas, like the textile quotas which were phased out early this year.

Service barriers come in different forms like capital-registration requirements, shareholding limitations and geographic limitations.

Removing these barriers will increase Hong Kong goods'  competitiveness in overseas markets and help local services providers open up business in other countries, he said.

"Our service providers like bank and insurance companies, or any business which has an interest to trade with the world, would find it easier to enter into the market of another country. So it is really in our interest that this ongoing round of trade negotiations is successful," he said.

This round aims to reduce trade barriers in a number of areas, with agriculture as the main focus, he said, adding agriculture is of lesser interest to Hong Kong, because we are not a major exporter of such products.

HK manufacturers stand to gain

"But in terms of non-agriculture products, which means industrial goods - like toys, watches, textiles - we have a big stake. If we are successful in reducing tariffs of all these products, then Hong Kong manufacturers will stand to gain a lot," Mr Young said.

"We can't say now how successful we are going to be by the end of this round. I don't think, of course, honestly, all these barriers will be taken away by the end of this round.

"Even assuming that say half, or even one-third of all the existing trade barriers are taken away, the addition to the world economy, in terms of value-added, will be very substantial," he said.