Mr. Laird
HKK 6/18
Reference...
53
Hong Kong: conduct of commercial relations
With reference to para. 7 of your minute of 36 10 June and Mr. Kennedy's minute of 7 July, the
า
(37)
letter at 18 in the folder comes from Geneva and can hardly be regarded as a Foreign Office legal opinion! However, I would agree that Hong Kong is not at present deemed to be a contracting party to GATT under Article XXVI,5.
2. In my view H.M.G. is not, as a matter of international law, precluded from giving Hong Kong "full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other nations provided for in the Agreement" within the meaning of
Article XXVI 5(c), if this is thought the right course as a matter of policy, by giving Hong Kong an entrustment in the field of commercial relations, similar to those referred to in para 3 of Mr. Steel's minute of 11 June.
3. In view however of the official nature of the Hong Kong Government under the constitutional instru- ments and of the fact that H.M.G. can if they wish exercise control over all the activities of that Government, I remain of the opinion that an entrustment of this kind does not make sense.
4.
I must admit that I am not entirely clear what our present proposals really amount to in substance and it may be there is no need for a formal entrustment
CLARETKI in order to enable Hong Kong officials to represent what they fancy to be Hong Kong's true interests in international negotiations without feeling that they are constantly being thwarted by another bunch of officials in Whitehall.
A.R.R.
(A. R. Rushford)
K 188 MA 118
9 July, 1970
п
M. Kedven
Наи
you managem
and what, if any,
was suits
خا
the Gort.)
فشل نا
Comununciation
Hong Kong permiering
the May 6
hegfiate agramment under the LTA?
адпалаты либи
En.
10/2