   
  
WT/REG400/M/1  
 
11 December  2020 
(20-8945) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Ninety -eighth  Session    
 
 
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN HONG KONG, CHINA AND AUSTRALIA  
(GOODS AND SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  18 NOVEMBER  2020 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Mārtiņš KREITUS (Latvia ) 
1.1.  The 9 8th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter  "CRTA " or the 
"Committee ") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 23/Rev.1  dated 6 November  2020. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item C.V of the Session, the CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement 
between Ho ng Kong, China and Australia , goods  and services  (hereinafter  "the Agreement").  The 
Chairman  stated that the Factual Presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own 
responsibility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Chairman  indicated  that the Agreement had entered into force on 17 January 2020. It had  
been notified to the WTO by the Parties on 17 January 2020 under Article  XXIV:7(a) of the 
GATT  1994 and Article V:7(a) of the GATS as a comprehensive agreement which  cover ed trade in 
goods and services, and other related issues (documents  WT/REG400/N/1 and S/C/N/986, 
respectively ). The text of the Agreement was available, together with its Annexes, on the Parties' 
official websites. The Factual Presentation on the goo ds and services aspects 
(document  WT/REG400/1 dated 9 September 2020) and questions and replies on this Agreement 
(document WT/REG400/2 dated 4 November 2020) ha d been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of Hong Kong, China  welcomed the consideration of the  Agreement between 
Hong Kong, China  and Australia by th e Committee.  He thank ed the Secretariat for preparing the 
Factual Presentation, which succinctly capture d the key elements of the Agreement.  He also thank ed 
colleagues from Australi a for their cooperation in preparations for the meeting.   
1.5.  The Agreement had provide d Hong Kong, China  traders and investors with legal certainty and 
more favourable access to the Australian market, whilst creating more business opportunities and 
enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong, China  and Australia.  The Agreement 
was fully consistent with the WTO agreements.  It was comprehensive in scope and the commitments 
therein were of high quality, encompassing trade in goods and trade in services , investment, 
government procurement, intellectual property, competition, a dispute settlement mechanism and 
other related areas.  
1.6.  On trade in goods, Hong Kong, China  and Australia had agree d to eliminate all tariffs on goods 
originating from each other immediately upon the entry into force of the Agreement.  On trade 
remedies, the y had  agree d to maintain their rights and obligations under the relevant WTO 
Agreements in respect of anti -dumping and safeguard measures.  For countervailing measures, the 
two Parties had agree d to strengthen the notification and consultation requirements.  The Agreement 
contain ed provisions for strengthened co -operation and enhanced transparency in the areas of 
sanitar y and phytosanitary measures as well as technical barriers to trade.  It also simplifie d customs 
procedures, promote d co-operation between their customs administrations, and strengthen ed the 
notification and consultation requirements on the use of counterva iling measures , seeking to ensure 
that customs procedures and practices applying to goods traded between Hong Kong, China  and 
Australia were predictable, consistent, transparent and trade facilitating.  WT/REG400/M/1  
 
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  1.7.  On trade in services , the Agreement cover ed a comprehe nsive range of services sectors.  Many 
of the commitments made by Hong Kong, China  and Australia went beyond the ir existing 
commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services; some ha d even exceeded the level 
of commitments offered under the Doha Round negotiations.  Apart from market access 
commitments, the two Parties ha d agreed on other obligations to facilitate trade in services.  They 
include d an undertaking on tariff-free treatment for all electronic transmissions and other facilitation 
measures for e -commerce; improvement of transparency of domestic regulations and streamlining 
of application procedures for authorisation; provision of dedicated disciplines on financial services 
and telecommunications; and implementation of future work programmes on educational services, 
professional services and legal services.  
1.8.  On investment , Australia had committed to raising the monetary thresholds for screening of 
investments by Hong Kong, China  investors, putting them  on a par with investors from most other 
free trade agreement partners of Australia in this regard.  Hong Kong, China  and Australia ha d also 
signed a related Investment Agreement which, upon its entry into force, had replace d the one signed 
in 1993.  The new Investment Agreement contain ed modern provisions on non -discriminatory 
treatment of investments and comprehensive protection of investments.  
1.9.  Apart from the above, the Agreement contain ed provisions to facilitate access to each other 's 
Government procurement markets of which the commitments were in line with the WTO Agreement 
on Government Procurement.  The Agreement also include d commitments to ensure effective 
protection of intellectual property rights, promote competition, as well a s facilitate small and 
medium -sized enterprises to benefit from the Agreement.  In addition, it set out principles that 
enhance d regulatory coherence and a transparent mechanism for consultations and settlement of 
possible disputes arising under the Agreeme nt.  
1.10.   The Agreement had entered into force on 17 January 2020.  Owing to the significant economic 
impact of the COVID -19 pandemic, the benefits of the Agreement might not be fully realised 
immediately. Hong Kong, China  looked forward to gainfully u sing this platform to take bilateral trade 
and economic relations to a new level once the pandemic was under control.  He thanked Members 
for their interest in the Agreement and their written questions, noting that joint written replies from 
Hong Kong, China  and Australia  had been circulated before the meeting.  Any further comments from 
Members were welcomed and he looked  forward to a fruitful discussion.  
1.11.   The representative of Australia  thanked Members for the opportunity to make some opening 
remarks on the Agreement  which had entered into force on 17  January 2020, the same day as its 
notification to the WTO.  Australia remained commit ted to transparent notification of all its free trade 
agreements – negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of which was undertaken consisten tly 
with WTO rules.  He greatly appreciate d the work of the Secretariat in drafting the Factual 
Presentation and value d the contribution of the C ommittee to the WTO 's transparency function.  
1.12.   The Agreement wa s comprehensive, modern and high standard that buil t on the significant 
and highly complementary economic relationship between Australia and Hong Kong, China. In 2019, 
Hong Kong , China was Australia 's eleventh largest export market  and 15th l argest two -way trading 
partner.  It was  the 5th largest investor in  Australia, and tenth largest destination for Australian 
investment overseas , to give Members a sense of the significance of the economic relationship 
between the Parties . 
1.13.   The Agreement met all the criteria of a high -quality agreement that promote d growth in goods 
and services trade:  it was fully consisten t with WTO principles and rules, and deliver ed WTO-plus 
outcomes.  It met t he WTO threshold requirement that an agreement cover "substantially all trade " 
between the parties . All tariffs on goods originatin g from each Party had been  bound at zero upon 
the entry into force . The Agreement also addresse d non-tariff barriers and ensure d efficient customs 
settings, part icularly for food and beverages.  He observed that these were two very open economies 
but the standard of substantially all trade was one that Australia considered very important and had 
also been met in respect of th e Agreement. The Agreement contained WTO-plus outcomes on 
services , where e ach side ha d made vario us improvements over its WTO commitments, covering a 
wide range of sectors such as professional services, transport services, financial services, 
telecommunications services and various business services  which would facilitate growth in trade in 
services . The Agreement included measures which assist ed companies doing business in Australia 
and Hong Kong, China, including  facilitative arrangements for business travel as well as provisions 
to facilitate access to Government procurement markets, effective prote ction of intellectual property WT/REG400/M/1  
 
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  rights and promotion of competition . The Agreement e nhance d regulatory coherence and established 
a transparent mechanism for consultations and dispute settlement . It contained m odern e -commerce 
rules that, among other things,  remove d impediments such as local data storage requirements and 
customs duties impo sed on electronic transmissions  and would set an example in e -commerce . An 
associated Investment Agreement had also been signed by Hong Kong, China and Australia alongside 
the Agreement . The Investment Agreement provide d an updated set of rules to govern the Parties ' 
significant investment relationship, and replace d the outdated 1993 Agreement.  The A greement  and 
associated Investment Agreement, together, operate d to promote greater  bilateral trade and 
investment .  
1.14.   He thank ed colleagues from Hong Kong, China for their cooperation in preparing for this 
review , as well as Members for their questions  already received . He looked forward to fu rther 
comments from Members in the discussion.  
1.15.   The representative of the European Union  commended the Parties for the elaborate provisions 
of the Agreement, especially in the competition and intellectual property rights area s and thanked 
them for the prese ntation of the Agreement and their detailed replies to the EU's written questions.  
1.16.   The representative of the United States  thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for their 
transparency in relation to t he Ag reement . She also noted that both Parties had non -notified 
agreements that were in force and invited them to notify these agreements as soon as possible.  
1.17.   The representative of Canada  thanked the Parties for their transparency in relation to the 
Agreement and also thanked the Secretariat for preparation of the Factual Presentation.  
1.18.   The Chairman  stated that consideration of the Goods and Services Aspects of the Free Trade 
Agreement between Hong Kong, China and Australia, ha d allowed the Committee to clarify a number 
of questions and thus conclude d oral di scussion of th e RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the 
Transparency Mechanism. Any delegations wish ing to ask follow -up questions were invited to 
forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 25 November 2020 and Parties were asked to 
submit replies in writing by no later than 9 December 2020. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the 
Transparency Mechanism , all written submissions, as well as minutes of this meeting would be 
circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made ava ilable on the WTO website.  
1.19.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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