Negotiations towards a free trade deal between Hong Kong and New Zealand have been postponed whilst the latter explores a trade agreement with mainland China, a New Zealand government spokesperson has confirmed.
According to the Associated Press, the spokesperson, speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton, revealed that talks with Hong Kong have been “parked” until negotiations with China, due to commence early in 2005, have been completed.
The talks first stalled in 2002 when New Zealand, fearing a glut in cheap imports manufactured on the mainland, insisted that transparent rules be put in place to determine the origin and Hong Kong content of export products.
However, the Hong Kong government said that it could not commit to this condition as many of its exports, particularly clothing, are processed to some degree in the mainland.
Nevertheless, the spokesperson stressed that the hiatus in the talks was temporary, and suggested that negotiations are likely to resume in the future.
"They're not calling them off ... but it's going to take a wee while," to resolve the issues, she stated.
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