JOTES FOR SUPPLEMENTARIES
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told the House on 4 February that the EEC had:
"Confirmed its proposal to include Hong Kong in its scheme of generalised preferences from the date of its implementation."
Hong Kong like other dependent territories will however be excluded for textiles and footwear.
2. The Chancellor added in reply to Mr Blaker that the agreement reached with the Community would not cover all the requirements which Hong Kong might put forward but it represented a great step forward.
3. We are continuing to press the other industrialised countries to include Hong Kong in their schemes. I have no further information about the intentions of the US but we are hopeful that Japan will include Hong Kong and we will urge them to be liberal in view of the great importance of the Colony as a market for Japanese goods.
4. Questions concerning the EEC negotiations should be addressed to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
5. Mr Blaker has a special interest in Hong Kong which he recently visited. He asked a previous question on generalised preferences on 8 March and in supplementary questions then and on February 4 and 8 concerning generalised preferences he has asked about the treatment that Hong Kong will receive. He has also written twice to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade about Hong Kong's trade with the UK and the position if the UK enters the EEC,
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