30. 3/1/15
DRUGADARAIAL
Commonwealth Office, Downing Street, London, D.A.1.
5th Jestinyo
1967
nd tone cones's lain to Paveloping Status
Many thanks for your letter JR/SIC_1103/1 II of 27 May.
2. I was about to reply to your letter, when I heard that Martin wes ever ören draseln and riched o talk about !!. We thought that he ml ht have some new information to record but in the event it timed out that he wished to bring himself up to date with our thinking. what i have to say in this letter, dierefore, is broadly speaking what I told him when he called on ue.
3. we were moat pratet 1 for the news and in ormation contained in your letter unier referents. e note that despite what the Tho Delegation said, there has ac far been no sat:al attempt in practice to employ Lelo arquent that Hong Kong is not a developing country cainst you, but tast such an attempt is on the cards. he hope, neverthelegs, that the may reir in from action that actually hits your economic interesta and that is based on their argument about your Itatus, As long a tidy tace n. such action we consider that it is best to lie low. se cannot believe Laat raising the matter with the n0 (or in any international irun) as a matter of principle will do any good at all. In saying this, we recognise that the 830 interpretation of the second preambular paragrach of the Long Term Arrangement for cotten textiles can easily be faulted: we would have thought it possible to arme that although lion, hong does not producc raw cotton this 18 no bas to her being treated as a less developed country of the kind o rekod in this provision: the particuler claus of less developed countries concerned do not have to possess raw materiale ac vell as technical skills; the possession of those particular qualities is zerely a puide to what are tha
the "necessary recources". ne "necessary resourons", which is the quality that
defines a partic. lar class of developin: countries in question, cold easily include a rely toconical skills.
4.
+
·
but +
I am afraid to t you may not think this letter particularly enlightening for it amounts to not much more than "wait and see".
t.au 10 18 Alirioult in the circumstances to think of any better alterative
course.
Commonemith Trade Copart ent
Jauffrezc11,
Commerce and Industry Department,
ire brigade Building,
on: hong.
Copied to: R. Goldsmith sq., B/Trade.
91.
Do
COMPASIRDAL
.S. Carter, D.7.D.
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