We hope that Japan will not exclude Hong Kong from her ander Hot
ANCTAD Scheun
offer of generalised preferences. Japanese argue that
Hòng Kong is a dependent territory and therefore our
This is irrelevant in the context of
responsibility.
onomic devant pent the developing world. We recognise that Hong Kong is
competitive, in some products but this can be overcome
by the use of safeguard arrangements. Other developing
countries such as South Korea and Taiwan are no less
competitive; Hong Kong merely seeks avoidance of dis-
crimination. Hong Kong has a large trade deficit with
Japan and is her third largest customer. A decision by
Japan to exclude Hong Kong which encouraged others to
do likewise would have adverse effects on Hong Kong's
economy and thus on Japanese exports to Hong Kong. The
Secretary of State recently sent a message to the
Japanese Foreign Minister on these lines.
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