Extract of Letter to Mr. P.V. Dodge, Hong Kong Office, Brussels, from Mr. D.H.A. Hannay, United Kingdom Delegation to the European Communities. Brussels. dated 4 February, 1971
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TAIWAN
3.
I am afraid I was misled by something Tran had earlier said to me into thinking that the Community had got further in consideration of the question of Taiwan than is in fact the case; and I fear I misled Jack Cater in London on this point. When I put the question directly to him, Tran said that Taiwan was certainly not yet included in the Community's scheme. But the Americans were pressing the Community hard to include Taiwan and he himself did not think that the Community would be able to resist this pressure for ever, particularly since they might wish to include Taiwan in return for some concession elsewhere by the Americans.
4.
Tran did say, however, that he did not envisage any Community agreement to include Taiwan being reached before they introduced their scheme (the Commission, as you know, is pressing for introduction on 1 July 1971). He thought the earliest the Community might agree to include Taiwan would be in the autumn; by leaving the decision until after the introduction of the scheme they would have a freer hand to ensure that Taiwan's access to the scheme was strictly limited. When I asked whether he thought Taiwan might be offered the status of beneficiary under the same conditions as Hong Kong, Tran immediately said that something along the Hong Kong lines might be used but there would not in his view be complete exclusion of textiles and shoes as was the case for Hong Kong.
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