CO.
CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
Cypher
D. R.
8 June, 1967. 8 11
警察
09402
IMMEDIATE
CONFIDENT LAL No. 798.
JUN
1967
Addressed to Ambassador Brussels (for Martin)
No. M.377.
Repeated " Board of Trade No. M.378.
(Commonwealth Office please pass
both).
30
(28)
1.
Your telegram No. 11.
Cotton Textile Exports to the Benelux Countries.
You should again ask the Benelux officials to agree to talks as soon as possible because the trade here is now aware of the imposition of import restrictions and of the Benelux request.
2*
The Consuls-General for Belgium and the Netherlands handed over on 2 June a copy of aide-memoire and they reacted very sympathetically to our wish to hold talks in Hong Kong. It is believed that they have both supported our request in correspondence with their respective Governments.
3.
Paragraph (c) of your telegram:
presumably
8 February 1966 should read 1 (repeat 1) February 1966.
4. Porter's report in savingram No. 417 is very useful but we still need urgently the detailed import statistics by quantities (repeat quantities) in order to reconcile the figures.
5. The transit and re-export figures in Appendix III to savingram No. 417 are surprising. We interpret them to mean that there has been absolutely no transit or re-export trade through the Netherlands in Hong Kong woven shirts from 1 January to 20 May 1967 and that a mere 30,704 pieces await re-export in bond. If this is so it detracts from Benelux case for import control so we must be absolutely confident of the facts but the figures may merely mean that the Dutch do not have full accurate records of the transit and re-export trade.
6.
Your savingram No. 423: there was a drafting error in CAB 392 paragraph 8. For "in excess of" read "less than", The subsequent argument may thus be valid.
HWB6/2
LAST
RE!
CONFIDENTIAL
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