John Tsang sees road map, not the end of the road
Next month's WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong will be a milestone in furthering the Doha round of negotiations to liberalise global trade, Hong Kong's trade minister promised yesterday, despite widespread gloom over the likely outcome.
The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, John Tsang Chun-wah, said the declaration to be issued by the 21 leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit today would give a boost to the Doha round of trade negotiations.
'The leaders' declaration will mention the call for ending subsidies including those on agricultural products, at a certain point of time, and will outline a formula for reducing trade tariffs,' said Mr Tsang, who will chair next month's WTO conference.
'The Hong Kong meeting will not be the end of the road for the Doha round. We hope it will create a milestone for the successful conclusion of this round of trade talks.'
The sixth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation will be held in the city from December 13 to 18. The Doha round has a deadline of December 2006.
Mr Tsang urged Hong Kong's non-government organisations to learn more about the progress of the ongoing trade talks.
'Some NGOs in Hong Kong are not that familiar with the latest progress. They should do more homework,' he said.
Members of the Hong Kong People's Alliance on the WTO have joined a farmers' rally in Pusan, where Apec leaders are meeting.
