Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs. Rita Lau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Wine-related Businesses (MOU) with the visiting Secretary of Commerce of the United States, Gary Locke, on May 17, 2010 in Hong Kong.
Secretary Locke is leading the first cabinet-level trade mission to Asia by President Obama’s administration with Hong Kong being the first stop.
Addressing a luncheon in honor of Secretary Locke, Mrs. Lau said Hong Kong and the United States had maintained healthy and robust bilateral business relations and that Secretary Locke’s visit would encourage both communities to work towards stronger bilateral relations and explore new areas for collaboration.
The signing of the MOU on wine marked an important milestone in closer bilateral ties and business cooperation between the two places, she said.
“Today, our relationship with the U.S. takes another major step forward. Riding on this MOU, we will strengthen our joint efforts on promoting wine-related trading, tourism, investment and education.
“The MOU also covers a number of special areas. These include promoting wine alongside regional and local cuisine, facilitating the organization of wine auctions in Hong Kong for U.S. wines, and encouraging the provision of quality wine storage facilities in Hong Kong,” Mrs. Lau said.
Hong Kong Commissioner for Economic and Trade Affairs, USA, Mr. Donald Tong said, “The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office welcomes this MOU which will help further foster joint efforts by the U.S. and Hong Kong to promote U.S. wine in Hong Kong and via Hong Kong into the massive Mainland markets”.
In February this year, Hong Kong reached agreement with the Mainland to provide facilitation measures for wines imported from Hong Kong. They include pre-valuation of wine duty before arrival at the Mainland boundary and expedited customs clearance at Mainland boundary points. Under the measures, registered wine traders may request Mainland Customs to do valuation of wine duty 10 working days before the shipment is exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland. When the shipment arrives at a Mainland boundary point, Mainland Customs will normally complete the procedure within one working day. The measures will be tried out in Shenzhen of the Mainland in the second quarter of 2010.
As one of the world’s leading wine producers and exporters, the United States is Hong Kong’s fourth largest wine importer. Wine imports from the U.S. amounted to US$49 million in 2009-2010, representing a five-fold increase since Hong Kong’s duty exemption in early 2008. U.S. auction houses have held regular wine auctions in Hong Kong with record-breaking sales on several occasions.
The MOU on wine between Hong Kong and the United States is the eighth cooperative agreement concluded by Hong Kong with wine producing countries/regions, coming after those with France, Bordeaux, Spain, Australia, Italy, Hungary and New Zealand.
