of which this Agreement has been accepted under
Article XVI.......Each such Customs territory shall,
exclusively for the purposes of the territorial
application of this Agreement, be treated as though
it were a contracting party; provided that the
provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed
to create any rights or obligations as between two
or more Customs territories in respect of which this
Agreement has been accepted under Article XXVI.
by a single contracting party"
The opinion of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office legal
advisors of the GATT status of Hong Kong (and of all other British
dependent territories) is that Hong Kong is not administratively
and juridically a contracting party to the GAIT although by
virtue of the territorial application provisions of the Agreement
(Article XXIV: 1) she is treated as a contracting party as far as
the substantive trade rules of the Agreement are concerned.
3. As a consequence of her GATT status identified above, Hong
Kong is represented in the GATT by the UK, and UK spokesmen
speaking on behalf of Hong Kong are identified as such. It is
the duty of the UK to secure both the GATT rights of Hong Kong
and the observance of GATT obligations by Hong Kong. In
practice, Hong Kong's interests have been represented for some
time mainly by Mr. Derek Jones, Counsellor (Hong Kong affairs)
in the UK Mission in Geneva, whose concentration on Hong Kong
affairs has naturally lead to some degree of recognition of the
special interest of Hong Kong. However, other UK officials have
also spoken on behalf of Hong Kong, as they would with regard
to any other UK dependent territory, and Hong Kong officials have
also spoken from a seat within the UK Delegation on behalf of
2.