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7
Secret.
fidential.
Restricted.
Jassified.
Anglo-Japanese Ministerial
Consultations (Anglo-Japanese Economic Relations)
JACY MARKING
ANNEX B
...In Confidence
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(172)
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
HONG KONG AND THE JAPANESE GENERALISED PREFERENCE SU
1. HMG have been pressing the Japanese for nearly a
year to include Hong Kong (and other UK dependent tu
ritories) in their Generalised Preference Scheme (U.....).
We believed, as a result of a statement in the Diet by
Mr Sato on 23 March to the effect that Hong Kong was
"not unsuitable" for inclusion in the Japanese GPS,
we had overcome initial Japanese. reluctance to acco
beneficiusy a territory they inevitably see us a as a competitor in other markets (notably in the US),
2.
Tat
However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI),
who have been leading opposition to any worthwhile ofer
to Hong Kong, have recently counter-proposed the end-
sion of all dependencies from the initial implement:
tion of the Japanese GPS (possibly on 1 August 1971
relegating them to a hypothetical second stage (before
April 1972) when their case would be "reviewed" alo... -
side other "problem" candidates for beneficiary stav 3.
While donor countries generally may postpone the po
sible grant of preferences to the "problem" candidus
(mainly semi-developed Mediterranean countries such
Spain, Greece and Israel, etc, as also Romania and
Bulgaria), only Japan among major donors has thougn
necessary to regard dependent territories as a "pro- ma' -
3. The Japanese Foreign Ministry have now told us
without comment or explanation, that the MITI viewpotab.
1
CONFIDENTIAL