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practicable in the GATT. It would not succeed.
34. Mr. Jordan said that he was very disturbed to hear Kr. Stewart's reference to UNCTAD and enquired whether this meant that the U.K. would no longer claim tat llong Kong was a devoloping country. Mr. Stewart replied that it was a question of how far the U.K. pushed the argument. He pointed out that other countries were arguing that Hong Kong was not developing.
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Ho
35. ir. Jordan referred to "crccping bilateralism". said that Hong Kong did not want to agree to voluntary restraint any more than was necessary. They had not many
such agreements. But Hong Kong was not the only producing country concerned. It did not really make much difference whether Hong Kong concluded restraint agreements when many other countries had already done so. The point was that the spread of voluntary restraint was not within the control of the U.K. Importing countries would get away with discriminator measures in the GATT. The contracting parties would not agree to a tighter definition of Article XIX which would limit their freedom to respond to internal pressures.
36. Mr. Jones pointed out that so far Hong Kong had no cvidence that other countries took the view that negotiations with Hong Kong comitted H.M.G. in the U.K. There was, therefore, no conflict between Hong Kong concluding restraint agreements on their own and the U.K. "grand design".
37. Mr. Dunnett said that there were broadly two courses open:
(a)
(b)
to rely on Article XIX only with no further voluntary restraint arrangements; or
to continue broadly as hitherto.
38. Mr. Jordan said that he was under instructions to ensure that the views of the Hong Kong authorities were heard at the levcl at which decisions would be taken on what recommendations
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