CONFIDENT IAL
Reference
and other countries can only be treated as "international agreements" if it is possible to establish that they are formally binding on HMG. In this connection, I must draw your attention in particular to the Saving Despatch
The Hong Kong Government were reminded in December, 1969, that a reply to this Saving Despatch was outstanding. We have still not received a reply.
Flag at (30).
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GATT
7. The Cotton Textiles Committee is a committee of the GATT and it is, therefore, necessary to consider what can be done under GATT. This particular aspect of the matter was discussed at a series of meetings between Hong Kong officials and representatives of the Commonwealth Office, the Foreign Office, the Board of Trade and the Department of Economic Affairs in 1967 when we were last considering entry into the EEC. Extracts from the record of those discussions are at (32) and (33). You will see that the Foreign Office Legal Advisers were reported to have given it as their opinion that "Hong Kong was not administratively and juridically a Contracting Party to the GATT although, by virtue of the territorial application provisions of the Agreement, she was treated as a Contracting Party as far as the substantive trade rules of the Agreement were concerned" (paragraph 3 of (32)) and later (paragraph 7 of enclosure (33)) that we had found that there would be no legal objection under the GATT to Britain giving Hong Kong autonomy in the conduct of her external commercial relations. Paragraphs 4 and 5 of enclosure (32) record two ways in which Hong Kong might become a Contracting Party in its own right.
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I should be grateful for your views, from a legal point of view, on our being able to give Hong Kong more freedom of action under the GATT.
9.
I myself do not believe that we can completely overcome the constitutional position. I am sure, however, that we must somehow find a framework within which commercial relations between ourselves and Hong Kong and ultimately, if we join the EEC, between the EEC and Hong Kong can be conducted satisfactorily.
ER
(E. 0. Laira)
Hong Kong Department
10 June, 1970
CONFIDENTIAL