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CONFIDENTIAL - GUARD
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VERY GLAD TO PURSUE WITH TREZISE THE QUESTION HOW THE US MIGHT PROCEED AND HOW THE MATTER COULD BE HANDLED INTERNATIONALLY SO AS TO MINIMISE THE POSSIBLY DAMAGING REPERCUSSIONS OF WHICH WE ARE ALL CONSCIOUS.
(111) YOU WILL SEE THAT WHAT WE HAVE IN MIND IS TO DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ARRANGEMENT INVOLVING AT ANY RATE THE MAIN EXPORTING COUNTRIES AND NOT HONG KONG IN PARTICULAR. ON THIS BASIS. YOU MAY TELL TREZISE THAT WE WOULD NOT FEEL IT NECESSARY TO DO MORE THAN INFORM THE GOVERNOR AND HIS SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE TALKS IN ADVANCE, WITHOUT INVITING HONG KONG'S PARTICIPATION IN THEM. BUT WE COULD NOT DISCUSS WITH HIM, EVEN ON A NON-COMMITTAL BASIS, ANY SPECIFIC ARRANGEMENT RELATING TO HONG KONG IN THE ABSENCE OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT. IF WE DID
THIS WE SHOULD RISK ATTRACTING TO OURSELVES THE GRAVEST SUSPICION ON THE PART OF HONG KONG THAT WE WERE CONTEMPLATING SACRIFICING THE TRADE INTERESTS OF HONG KONG TO OUR OWN.
3.
THE POINTS IN HIS SUGGESTION WHICH ARE UNACCEPTABLE TO US WILL PROBABLY BE CLEAR TO TREZISE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER'S MESSAGE, AND YOU NEED NOT UNDERLINE THEM ANY MORE THAN IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT HE DOES NOT THINK THAT BY ENCOURAGING HIM TO COME WE ARE MODIFYING THE POSITION THERE INDICATED,
4. AS YOU KNOW, WE DO NOT WANT TO FIND AMERICAN PRESSURE DIVERTED AWAY FROM THE JAPANESE AND TOWARDS US EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH HONG KONG. BUT WE ARE ALSO WELL AWARE OF THE DANGER THAT UNILATERAL US ACTION COULD LEAD TO WHAT TREZISE CALLS AN INTERNATIONAL AVALANCHE OF TRADE RESTRICTIONS AND WE ARE AS ANXIOUS AS HE IS THAT THIS SHOULD
BE AVOIDED.
CONFIDENTIAL -GUARD
/5. PLEASE