Hong Kong Blog

Rich-country farm subsidies and trade barriers will command center stage at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Hong Kong that opens today, and for good reason. Protected farm markets are a glaring exception to the free-trade rhetoric and generally open policies pursued by the United States and other developed countries. For its own benefit as well as the success of the WTO negotiations, the U.S. should aggressively pursue deep cuts in global farm subsidies and trade barriers, beginning with our own failed farm policies. Without real agriculture reform, the WTO talks will be a colossal waste of time. [...]

At first glance, this port city of 7 million is everything its sovereign – China’s central government – would like it to be. Its economy is one of the freest and most competitive in the world. Its wealth matches that of few other places. Its banking system is the envy of some of the most developed countries. Business is booming, and so is tourism, bringing tens of millions of visitors a year. In the past year, the city has had two elections. A smooth and efficient transfer of power took place in the summer after its chief executive resigned. [...]

The trade round that began in Doha, Qatar, was supposed to in effect end in Hong Kong this week. The ministerial summit had been held up as the venue for working out the nuts and bolts of a global trade deal. The finger-pointing of the last few days is one indication that the predictions and hopes for Hong Kong were optimistic. EU officials have been notably defensive in and leading up to the Hong Kong summit – and for good reason. Thanks in part to the no-nonsense diplomacy of U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, it has become increasingly clear that the European Union is chiefly responsible for the deadlock in the trade round. Mr. Portman has not been timid about putting the onus where it belongs – on EU farm subsidies. [...]

Semiconductor distributor Nu Horizons announced today it has expanded its partnership with San Jose, Calif.-based Micrel Inc. to distribute Micrel’s analog, high bandwidth and Ethernet products in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.The companies initially formed a North American distribution partnership in 1991. Mark Lunsford, vice president of worldwide sales for subsidiary Micrel Semiconductor, said Nu Horizons’ past performance was a factor in expanding the contract.” [...]

Neither the transition to Chinese rule nor real estate concerns in Hong Kong dampened the Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut of Proview International Holdings Ltd., whose U.S. subsidiary Proview Technology Inc. is based in Garden Grove. On its first day of trading last month Proview International’s stock closed 27% above its issue price. The offering raised about $16 million for Proview International–a small amount by U.S. standards but notable for Hong Kong where the stock exchange has a market capitalization of about $460 million. In recent weeks, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has fluctuated, reflecting optimism about Hong Kong’s smooth transition to Chinese rule and uncertainty about the effect on real estate prices of a government proposal to increase housing supply. [...]