Hong Kong Joins Other WTO Members To Call For Further Services Liberalisation

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

10 March 2006

It was announced on Wednesday that Hong Kong has joined other WTO members to tender eight requests for further liberalisation in services areas.

In a government statement, it was announced that:

"Since the conclusion of the Sixth Ministerial Conference, Hong Kong has worked diligently and closely with groups of other members who share similar interests to hammer out collective requests on those services areas in which Hong Kong possesses export interests and capacity."

"Eight sets of collective requests covering all Hong Kong's priority areas have been issued to the target markets in the past few days"

The Trade and Industry Department announced that it expects the negotiations will help open up more target markets, enabling a more effective use of members' resources, particularly those from small delegations like Hong Kong.

The eight areas in which collective requests for further liberalization have been tendered by Hong Kong and other WTO members are:

• Audiovisual services, tendered by six Members to 28 other Members;
• Computer and related services, tendered by 17 Members to 16 other Members;
• Financial services, tendered by 10 Members to 21 other Members;
• Logistics services, tendered by seven Members to 34 other Members;
• Maritime transport services, tendered by 13 Members to 26 other Members; and
• Telecommunications services, tendered by 10 Members to 24 other Members.

In addition, one collective request covering the cross border and consumption abroad modes of supply (modes 1 and 2) across a number of specified services sectors, was tendered by 10 Members to 20 other Members, and one collective request on those exemptions to the most-favoured-nation treatment (MFN exemptions) being maintained by Members, was tendered by 10 Members to 16 other Members.

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