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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Press Release

Government tables HK's revised offers on trade in services to WTO
Thursday, June 9, 2005

The Government submitted Hong Kong's revised offers on further liberalisation in trade in services to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday (June 8).

The WTO aims to reach legally enforceable agreements on global trade liberalisation through multilateral negotiations. The new round of services negotiations was launched in 2000, and the negotiations have proceeded in the form of request-and-offer insofar as market access is concerned.

Taking into account the relevant timeline set by the WTO, Hong Kong tabled its initial offer on further liberalisation in trade in services in April 2003. As a step to move forward the services negotiations, WTO members agreed to table revised offers by May 2005 in the package of negotiating frameworks (the July Package) adopted last summer.

"Given the significance of services trade to Hong Kong, we have all along attached great importance to the current round of services negotiations. Building upon our initial offer submitted in 2003 which represents a credible package commensurate with our positive image as a free and open trading regime, our revised offer includes further commitments on the transparency of our existing commitment for movement of natural persons, urban planning and landscape architectural services, maritime transport services and freight transportation services," a Government spokesman said.

"This is to demonstrate our firm commitment to achieving a substantive outcome in the services negotiations, particularly in sectors of interest to developing country members," the spokesman continued.

"Commitments included in both the initial offer and revised offer are, however, conditional upon the outcome of the negotiations, including the satisfactory offers from our trading partners with commitments meeting the interests of Hong Kong."

A detailed summary of Hong Kong's existing services commitments and offers tabled to the WTO is available at the website of the Trade and Industry Department (http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/trade_relations/tradefora/wto_servnegot.html). Any views and suggestions on the ongoing services negotiations may be sent to the Multilateral Division of the Trade and Industry Department, or via fax (2390 7479) or email (mdiv1@tid.gov.hk).

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