ABSTRACT
The People's Republic of China (PRC) is expected to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, with Taiwan to follow as a separate customs territory. The WTO which covers liberalization measures over a broad range of economic activities, including investment, promotes two main principles governing the world trade system. First, the most favoured nation treatment requires trade benefits extended to one trading partner be extended to all. Second, national treatment requires foreign goods and companies to be treated no worse than domestic products and companies. Exceptions to or variations of these principles are allowed only under special circumstances.1 These and other principles embodied in the WTO regime will have various implications for the economies of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau which this paper will outline.
