128
HKK 6/534/1
Foreign and Commonwealth Office London S.W.1
24 October, 1968.
frew.
Thank you for your letter, 1/16/376 CD, of 9 October about the Anglo-Benelux Agreed Minute on Trade.
We have now discussed this question with Morrice, of our European Economic Integration Department who was present at the last meeting with the Benelux representatives, when the matter of extending the Agreed Minute to cover Dependent Territories was raised, albeit without success. Our conclusion is that there is no point in our pursuing these arguments further for the time being, at least until the Agreed Minute again comes up for renewal.
It is difficult to say if your theory concerning the Price Surveillance system, operated by the Benelux on Hong Kong goods, in fact had any bearing on their general reluctance to include Dependent Territories. Certainly the record reveals that the Benelux representatives had the Hong Kong position quite openly in mind when they resisted our suggestion.
we will indeed raise this matter with the Hong Kong Government
before the annual renewal of the Agreed Minute comes up again.
D. M. Sellers, Esq.,
(H. STEWART )
Hong Kong Department
Hong Kong Government Office,
54, Pall Mall,
LONDON, S.W.1.
LAET
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