New Zealand-Hong Kong free trade deal on hold
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Talks on a free trade deal between New Zealand and Hong Kong have been put on hold while New Zealand officials explore a trade agreement with mainland China, a government spokeswoman said Friday.
A spokeswoman for Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said the Hong Kong talks are "parked'' until New Zealand knows the outcome of free trade talks with China due to open in early 2005.
"Hong Kong doesn't want to resume at the moment,'' spokeswoman Cathie Bell told The Associated Press.
Although Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China in 1997, it retains separate economic and legal systems and independently negotiates trade deals with foreign nations.
The negotiations with Hong Kong first ran into trouble in mid-2002 when New Zealand insisted on transparent rules to determine where export products are made and their level of local content.
New Zealand doesn't want to get flooded with cheap imports made on the mainland and wants to wants to ensure that goods imported from Hong Kong are made in the territory.
But Hong Kong has said it can't agree to the proposed rules because most of its clothing and footwear exports are processed, to some degree, in mainland China. Processing can include everything from packing to completing production.
Bell said the Hong Kong trade talks might resume eventually. "They're not calling them off ... but it's going to take a wee while,'' to resolve the issues, she said. - AP
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