World Trade Organisation

The WTO oversees the implementation of the multilateral rules and
disciplines agreed to at the Uruguay Round of negotiations for trade in
goods, services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. It
also serves as a forum for multilateral trade negotiations. The multilateral
trading system under the WTO is the cornerstone of the HKSAR's
external trade policy. The HKSAR supports a strong and credible
multilateral trading system to sustain global trade liberalisation and
economic growth.

The HKSAR is a founding member of the WTO. Its separate membership
status reflects the autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial
relations which is guaranteed under the Basic Law of the HKSAR.

The first WTO ministerial conference, held in Singapore in December
1996, underscored the credibility and pre-eminent role of the rule-based
multilateral trading system in fostering progressive global trade
liberalisation. The HKSAR participates actively in the work of the WTO
to ensure the faithful implementation of the WTO work programme
which covers, among other things, reviews of the various WTO
agreements, preparation for the overall negotiations on services, and
studies on the new issues identified in the Singapore ministerial
conference including the inter-relationship between trade and investment,
the interaction between trade and competition policy and transparency in
government procurement. The HKSAR also plays a leading role in a
number of the WTO committees.

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