(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry
No.
CURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret. Secret.
Confidential. Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
His Excellency
Sir David Trench, GCMG., MC.,
Government House,
Hong Kong
DRAFT B
Type 1 +
From
Sur L. Monson
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
In Confidence
сору Copy in draft
Conduct of Commercial Relations
We have completed our consultations with other
departments on the revised draft statement that
emerged from our further discussions with you on
9 December. For ease of reference I attach a copy of that draft, in which the additions then made are
underlined.
2.
There is general acceptance of the additions to
paragraphs 1 and 3 and of the new paragraph 8. But
our consultations have raised certain doubts about
the application of the statement to the proceedings of international organisations.
3. I understand that at the meeting on 9 December
you were told that Eugene Melville had expressed misgivings on this score. He was particularly concerned about the possibility that Hong Kong representatives might speak in divergent terms on policy in GATT or other international organisations, e.g. UNCTAD. He considers it dangerous to attempt to reduce to a written concordat the relationship in the GATT field; indeed, if we understand him correctly,
he feels unhappy about any further attempt to formulate written guide-lines for the conduct of
commercial relations.
4.
I see mi pout but I fear that an
Things have develifed
Whatever the merits of avoiding a written
formulation, I think it must be accepted that matters
have gone too far to draw back now and that you need some further elaboration of the rough guide lines prepared in September last year to show to your
Executive Council. We must therefore address
ourselves to resolving the doubts that are felt about
the application of the proposed statement.
/ 5.