On the road to Liberty

The WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong failed to break the deadlock at the trade negotiations. But Hong Kong provided the best illustration of free trade, without any negotiations. For the past 50years, the secret of the success of the city has been its open trade policy. In this article published in the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), in December 2007, I ask "What Can India Learn from Hong Kong?" There is more than a little irony that the World Trade Organization ministerial is being held in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong is the epitome of the success of unilateral free trade policies: A few pieces of rock, devoid of any natural resources, the territory today ranks among the most prosperous places on earth. Hong Kong’s success is rooted in the institutions of rule of law and economic freedom. The territory did not negotiate any free trade deal. It just declared it unilaterally, and the rest is history. Yet the contrast between the success of Hong Kong’s unilateral f...

WTO ministerial meeting was being held in Hong Kong, this month, and as in the past, this time too, anti-trade and anti-globlisation groups were protesting outside on the streets. In this article, "What can India learn from Hong Kong" , published in the Far Eastern Economic Review, in December 2005, I look at the experience of Hong Kong, a city that has thrived on an unilateral free trade policy, and was not even negotiating at WTO! There is more than a little irony that the World Trade Organization ministerial is being held in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong is the epitome of the success of unilateral free trade policies: A few pieces of rock, devoid of any natural resources, the territory today ranks among the most prosperous places on earth. Hong Kong’s success is rooted in the institutions of rule of law and economic freedom. The territory did not negotiate any free trade deal. It just declared it unilaterally, and the rest is history. Yet the contrast between the succe...