NOTIFICATION
OF CHANGES AFFECTING THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF A REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENT
Addendum
The following
communication, dated 6 December 2024, has been received from the Delegations of China
and Hong Kong, China.
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Notification of the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the
Agreement on Trade in Services of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic
Partnership Arrangement.[1]
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1.
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Member(s) notifying:
China and Hong Kong, China
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2.
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Date of notification: 6 December 2024
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3.
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Notification pursuant to:
[X] Paragraph 14 of the Transparency Mechanism
for Regional Trade Agreements (WT/L/671)
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4.
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Changes affect:
[ ] goods
[X] services
[ ] both
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5.
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Original RTA being modified:
Mainland and Hong Kong Closer
Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)
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6.
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WTO document reference of original notification of RTA:
WT/REG162/N/1 and S/C/N/264
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7.
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Parties to the Agreement: China and
Hong Kong, China
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8.
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Date of adoption: 9
October 2024
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9.
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Date(s) of entry into Force/provisional-application: 9 October 2024
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10.
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Brief description of the changes:
The Second
Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Agreement on Trade in Services of the
Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (“the Amendment
Agreement II”) updates the commitments on liberalisation and facilitation of
trade in services under the Agreement on Trade in Services notified to the
WTO on 23 March 2016 (WT/REG162/N/1/Add.9 and S/C/N/264/Add.9) and
implemented on 1 June 2016 so as to further enhance the level of
liberalisation on trade in services under the framework of CEPA. The Agreement on Trade in Services was
first amended on 21 November 2019 as notified to the WTO on
18 March 2020 (S/C/N/264/Add.11 and S/C/N/264/Add.11/Corr.1) to add
liberalisation measures which have been implemented since 1 June
2020. The Amendment Agreement II
introduces new liberalisation measures in a number of services sectors,
including measures for pilot implementation in the nine Pearl River Delta
municipalities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and
includes commitments on domestic regulation for trade in services and
facilitation measures on trade and investment, etc. The Amendment Agreement II came into effect
on the day of signing (i.e. 9 October 2024) and will be implemented on
1 March 2025.
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11.
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Text and related schedules, annexes and protocols
are:
[ ] submitted
to the WTO Secretariat (electronic format)
[X] available
from the following official Internet link(s):
https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/legaltext/cepa19.html
http://tga.mofcom.gov.cn/ndygagyjlgjmjmgxdapCEPA/index.html
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[1] Supplements I to III can be found
under WTO Documents: _WT/REG162/1/Add.1-3. Supplements IV to X, the Agreement
between the Mainland and Hong Kong on Achieving Basic Liberalisation of Trade
in Services in Guangdong, the Agreement on Trade in Services, the Investment
Agreement, the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation and the
Agreement on Trade in Goods can be found under WTO Documents: _WT/REG162/N/1/Add.1-11. The Agreement Concerning Amendment
to the Agreement on Trade in Services of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer
Economic Partnership Arrangement can be found under WTO Documents: _S/C/N/264/Add.11 and _S/C/N/264/Add.11/Corr.1.