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4. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD CONSIDER MAKING FURTHER REPRESENTATIONS TO THE COMMISSION PREFERABLY AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN, BECAUSE OF WALLENSTEIN'S TRANSFER, WAS
POSSIBLE BEFORE, MAKING THE FOLLOWING POINTS:-
(A) HONG KONG DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT 'FORMAL RESPONSE’ ERNST EXPECTS, HONG KONG'S AGREEMENT, IN PRINCIPLE, TO NEGOTIATIONS WAS CONVEYED IN DODGE'S LETTER OF 13 JULY (HANDED OVER AT THE MEETING REFERRED TO IN PARAGRAPH 1 430VE). THIS ALSO REFERRED TO THE NEED FOR A FACTUAL STATEMENT OF THE REASONS AND JUSTIFICATION FOR RESTRAINT.
(8) THE TALKS HELD IN GENEVA IN JULY WERE, IN HONG KONG'S VIEW, CONSULTATIONS UNDERLINE NEXT WORD NOT NEGOTIATIONS BECAUSE THIS FACTUAL STATEMENT WAS NOT PROVIDED AND THE TALKS CONTINUED, AS WAS MADE CLEAR IN DORWARD'S OPENING STATEMENT, ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT A STATEMENT WOULD BE PRODUCED AND ON THE HYPOTHESIS THAT IT WOULD JUSTIFY RESTRAINTS.
(C) IT IS HONG KONG'S UNDERSTANDING THAT ERNST THEN UNDERTOOK TO SUPPLY SUCH A STATEMENT.
(D) THE ATTITUDE TAKEN BY ERNST IN RECENT TALKS WITH DODGE (BRUSSELS TELEGRAMS 31 AND 32) SEEM TO INDICATE THAT HE HAS NOW CHOSEN TO IGNORE THE SERIOUS CONCERN EXPRESSED BY CHRISTOFAS ON R14 JULY AND THAT HE HAS NO INTENTION OF PROVIDING THE FACTUAL STATEMENT REQUIRED, CLAIMING (AS HE HAS DONE BEFORE) THAT THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN THE EATING.
(E) HONG KONG'S REQUEST GOES NO FURTHER THAN THE ONE THAT WAS PUT TO, AND MET BY, THE BENELUX AND GERMANY BEFORE HONG KONG ENTERED INTO NEGOTIATIONS LEADING TO THE CONCLUSION OF 'ARTICLE 4' TYPE AGRESMENT WITH THEM. IF THE COMMUNITY WISHES TO HAVE A SIMILAR AGREEMENT COVERING ALL MEMBER STATES AS A WHOLE THEN THE COMMISSION SHOULD BE PREPARED TO PROVIDE A SIMILAR FACTUAL STATEMENT IN JUSTIFICATION. (IN GENEVA IN JULY THE HONG KONG SIDE TOLD ERNST THAT SO FAR AS GERMANY AND THE BENELUX WERE CONCERNED THEY WOULD ACCEPT THE DATA ON CONSUMPTION AND IMPORTS PRODUCED BY THESE COUNTRIES FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS HELD IN 1969).
/(F)
CONFIDENTIAL