CONFIDENTIAL
(f) A unilateral declaration by the British
Government, at the time of signature of the
accession instruments, following the precedents
of certain unilateral declarations made by
individual Member Governments of the existing
Community in 1957, which would place on record
Britain's continuing responsibilities for her
Dependent Territories, including Hong Kong.
Preferential access on a limited scale to the
(3)
U.K. market for certain new products for a short
period.
(h)
A bilateral trade agreement between Hong Kong
and the enlarged Community.
3.
In general Hong Kong's experience is that rights of access are of greater importance to her than tariff levels. The British Delegation explained that (a) had been rejected
by the Six in the last negotiations; and they were likely
to refuse it now.
As regards (f), this was a new idea which the British
They were also likely to reject (b).
Delegation had not yet considered.
As regards (g), Hong
Kong's main interest seemed to lie in continued preferential
access for new products, so as to assist the establishment
of new industries. After a short period, when an industry
had been established, preference could presumably be
witharawn.
4. It was generally thought that any request for special
treatment for Hong Kong by the enlarged Community was
likely to encourage the Six to seek protection from Hong
Kong competition in various ways, e.g. by the adoption of a stringent market disruption clause and/or severe origin
criteria. This might not be the case if Hong Kong were
included in general arrangements.
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15.