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The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr John Tsang, today (December 8) called on World Trade Organization (WTO) Member economies to exercise their collective responsibility and political will to make the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference a success.
Speaking at a luncheon organised by the Intercham, Mr Tsang explained that as a member-driven organisation, it was up to the Member economies to make or break the conference which would be in Hong Kong from December 13 to 18.
Noting that the negotiations leading to the conference had been fraught with difficulties, he said the main sticking point was in the area of agriculture where many countries were arguing over the levels of reduction in farm subsidies and tariff barriers in the rich countries such as the United States and the European Union.
As Chairman of the Ministerial, Mr Tsang said he saw himself as the honest broker bringing together all the conflicting and often contradictory interests and agendas of the Member economies.
He urged WTO Members to show political will and global vision in the Hong Kong meeting to thrash out solutions to some knotty problems, adding that the outcome of the meeting would have a great significance in the medium and longer term on the world economy, particularly on the world¡¦s poorest citizens.
¡§They will need to do this in a form that will enable us to drive forward into next year so that we can conclude the Doha Development Agenda by the end of 2006," Mr Tsang said.
¡§The stage is now set for the Ministerial Conference next week. As the world¡¦s freest economy, and a bastion of free trade, Hong Kong is the perfect theatre, ¡¨he said, adding that there would only be 100 working hours for the show to run ¡V 100 fateful hours for world trade ¡V to win favourable reviews from a watching world.
Mr Tsang has just returned from a trip to Brussels and Geneva where he attended meetings of the G90 group and the last meeting of the WTO¡¦s General Council. He noted that the draft Ministerial Declaration adopted by the General Council contained the bones of an agreement that would take us forward to next year.
¡§When I addressed the General Council, I made the point that as a member-driven organisation, it is up to the members to make or break this conference. We must exercise our collective responsibility to make it a success.
¡§Another failure is unthinkable and would come pretty close to destroying the WTO¡¦s credibility for years to come. And the fallout from that would mean increasing bilateralism in world trade deals, the only result of which would be further imbalance between rich and poor.
¡§The World Bank estimates a successful Doha Development Round could add US$300 billion annually to the global economy over the next decade to the year 2015.
¡§It also has the potential to bring 140 million people who live on less than US$2 a day out of their miserable existences,¡¨ he said.
Mr Tsang added that at the recent meeting of APEC Trade Ministers in Busan, South Korea, he had put forward five possible components of a development package:
(1) commitment to tariff free quota free market access for products of the Least Developed Countries;
(2) harvesting as many of the agreement-specific Special and Differential Treatment proposals for Least Developed Countries as is possible;
(3) agreement on a longer transition period for Least Developed Countries under the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Trade-related investment measures (TRIMs) agreements;
(4) commitment to an Aid for Trade-programme, which among other things should be sufficient to enable early implementation of the Trade Facilitation measures on which agreement is already very close; and
(5) securing a permanent solution to the TRIPS and Public Health issue, thus guaranteeing access to cheap drugs.
Regarding services and non-agricultural market access, as services now accounted for some 90% of Hong Kong¡¦s economy, the opportunities for growth resulting from lowered barriers in overseas markets would be multiplied, Mr Tsang said.
¡§It is estimated that local business stands to enjoy tariff savings of nearly HK$7.7 billion if the tariff on our top 10 domestic exports is removed.
¡§Like everyone else, Hong Kong¡¦s boat will rise with a successful Round¡¨ he said.
Ends/Thursday, December 8, 2005
Issued at HKT 15:59
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