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2.
ণ
ARTICLE XXIV: 1
"The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the
metropolitan Customs territories of the contracting parties
and to any other Customs territories in respect of which
this Agreement has been accepted under Article XXVI
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 Agreeement has
been accepted under Article XXVI
by a single
contracting party."
*
The opinion of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office legal advisors
of the GATT status of Hong Kong (and of all other British
i's
dependent territories) is 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
(Article XXIV: 1) she was treated as a contracting party as far the
substantive trade rules of the Agreement were 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
2.