0003230
G.F. 323
CONFIDENTIAL
A
5-
with developed western countries and most developing countries is subject to the rules of the GATT. The Community as a whole, with the possible exception of France, has few quantitative restrictions which apply to these countries, and what there are are usually operated on a non-discriminatory basis. Furthermore, trade agree- ments and commercial treaties with these countries are again relatively unimportant in practice and have little more than historical significance, having been largely replaced by the GATT.
10.
The two areas where the practices of Member States do diverge considerably, however, and where some compromise will need to be reached before a common policy can be achieved, concern
(a)
(b)
imports from Communist countries which practice state trading and
some imports from so-called low cost countries, including Japan.
The trade agreements and commercial treaties which remain of real significance, and which will need to be placed eventually on a Community basis, also mainly concern these two groups of countries. In addition there is the question of the policy to be adopted by the Community as a whole towards imports of cotton textiles from low cost countries under the provisions of Cotton Textiles Arrange- ment, as distinct from the more general provisions of the GATT.
Aspects of the Common Commercial Policy other than Quantitative Restrictions
11.
Apart from the common customs tariff and legislation to determine its uniform application throughout the territory of the Community, the main elements of the common commercial policy are
(a)
the harmonisation of trade agreements and commercial treaties with third countries and the renegotiation of the more important of these to cover the E.E.C. as a whole;
(b)
the application of uniform measures on anti-dumping;
(c)
the establishment of common rules of origin;
(a)
the common agricultural policy; and
(e)
12.
the agreement of a common policy on import regulation other than the tariff i.e. quantitative restrictions, surveillance procedures, measures to counter so called abnormal trading practices etc.
Of these by far the most important for Hong Kong is (e), which is dealt with in a separate section below. The following gives some indication of developments regarding the other aspects.
(a) Trade Agreements and Commercial Treaties
13.
Because of the existence of the GATT the only important trade agreements involving B.4.C. Member Countries are those with non-GATT countries, cspecially Communist countries, where trade is conducted on a bilateral basis. Trade Agreements between individual Member Countries and Japan are also important because most of them only agreed to enter into GATT relations with Japan on condition
/that
CONFIDENTIAL