CONFIDENTIAL
French Import Restrictions
21. France operates a number of discriminatory trade quotas against Hong Kong which, however, she has omitted to notify to the GATT. The latest of a series of annual bilateral trade talks
between France and Hong Kong took place in March.
Some improve-
ment of the quotas was agreed but after consultation with the Board of Trade it was decided that there should be some challenge to the French discriminatory quotas in a suitable international forum. With the backing of HMG the GATT Committee on Trade and Industrial Products was discreetly used for this purpose in April and Hong Kong's complaints against France were thus brought out into the open. Hitherto complaints have been voiced only on bilateral occasions but it is hoped that this more robust approach to the problem will mean that the French will treat the matter
more seriously than in the past.
Hong Kong Department 28 May, 1969
CONFIDENTIAL
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