A free trade agreement
between the mainland and Macao will add a new dynamic to economic
cooperation between the two, say officials.
Under the terms of
Friday's agreement, 273 types of products from Macao, including
garments, jewellery and some electronic goods, will be fully exempt
from tariffs when exported to the mainland starting from January 1,
2004, said Commerce Vice-Minister An Min at a press conference. The
273 types of products account for 93 percent of Macao's exports to
the mainland.
The zero-tariff
privilege will be extended to all goods made in the Macao Special
Administrative Region (MSAR) by January 2006, he said.
Eighty of the mainland's
service sectors, including banking, insurance and tourism, will
open up further to the MSAR's companies.
The pact also covers
trade and investment facilitation.
The mainland and Macao
also agreed to strengthen cooperation in tourism, financial
services and the recognition of professional
qualifications.
Six annexes to the pact
were also signed on Friday.
The Mainland-Macao
Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) aims to eliminate
the policy barriers in economic cooperation between the two
locations.
It will strengthen
Macao's role as an investment platform and intermediary and push
its economic diversity.
The most important
outcome of the pact for Macao is its greater access to a huge
market. It is now up to businesses to decide how to grasp the
opportunity, said Francis Tam, the MSAR's secretary for economics
and finance.
The mainland imported
US$142 million worth of goods from Macao and exported US$876
million to the MSAR last year.
CEPA negotiations were
launched on June 20 and the signing of the pact came after a
mainland-HKSAR CEPA was signed on June 29.
The mainland-Macao CEPA
shares the same principles as the Hong Kong agreement and fully
reflects the features of Macao's economy with some minor
differences in content, An said.
For example, the 273
types of products entitled for initial zero-tariff treatment are
not all the same under the two pacts.
Vice-President Zeng
Qinghong and the Chief Executive of Macao SAR, Ho Hau-wah,
witnessed the signing of the CEPA.
(China Daily October 18,
2003)