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has moved to counteract our import deposit
scheme by announcing that their clear banks
would provide special credit lines to Irish
exporters, The Government where necessary,
directly compensate the banks. One must
suppose that in time, if this sort of measure
is duplicated in other exporting countries,
that the first of the purposes to which I have referred above will be frustrated,
necessitating a harder approach on the part
of the Treasury than they are at present
adopting.
3.
Of course there are strong reasons for
doing what we can to minimise the impact of
our measures upon Hong Kong, the one dependent
territory to be severely affected (as it was
in 1964
by the imposition of the import surcharge):
(a) 98% of its trade to the United
Kingdom will be affected.
The
(b) Hong Kong industry regards United
A
Kingdom as a substitute for the domestic
market which it lacks.
(c)
After the events of last year,
must do nothing to damage confidence
we
in Hong Kong, particularly confidence
The
Connection
in maintenance of the British com
estion and of British concern for the
Colony.
(a) The impact of the import deposit
scheme will be hardest on the politically
in Hong Kong sensitive group of small exporters/
who handle,at a rough guess, half the
trade. The big exporter will be in a
better position of course to finance
wa deposits.
/On the other