Consultation on the Mainland and Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) completed today after five rounds of meeting.

The Vice-Minister of Commerce, An Min and the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam agreed on the arrangement after reviewed the final version of the agreement and its appendix at a high-level meeting today.

The six annexes of the arrangement were also approved in the meeting today. The six annexes are: Arrangements for Implementation of Zero Tariff for Trade in Goods; Rules of Origin for Trade in Goods; Procedures for the Issuing and Verification of Certificates of Origin; Specific Commitments on Liberalization of Trade in Services and Definition of "Service Supplier" and Related Requirements.

Under the arrangement, the Mainland and Macao will form a closer partnership in three major areas of trade in goods; trade in services and trade and investment facilitation.

The Arrangement will be signed tomorrow at the presence of a state leader.

The consultation over CEPA started at 20 June this year at a meeting held in Beijing between officials of the Central Government and Macao SAR Government.