Georgia, Hong Kong Sign Free Trade Agreement

The governments of Georgia and Hong Kong, the special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, have signed today a free trade agreement (FTA) aimed at expanding bilateral trade in goods and services.

Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Economy Genadi Arveladze and Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau have signed the document on behalf of their respective countries at today’s Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong.

Once the agreement takes effect (tentatively at the end of 2018), Georgia will apply no tariffs on 96.6% of products from Hong Kong, except from the agricultural products, beverages and spirits, while Hong Kong will grant tariff free access to all products from Georgia immediately.

Georgia and Hong Kong launched the free trade agreement negotiations in September 2016 and successfully completed it in April 2017, sealing Hong Kong’s first-ever free trade agreement in the Caucasus region. The agreement was preceded by sealing FTA between Georgia and China in May 2017.

Georgia’s trade turnover with Hong Kong, according to the State Statistics Office Geostat, stood at USD 108.93 million in 2017, with exports at USD 6.35 million (USD 4.28 million in 2016) and imports at USD 102.58 million (USD 77.04 million in 2016).

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