RECVED IN
PRIORITY
CYPHER CAT A
FM TOKYO 17020OZ
CONFIDENTIAL
REGISTRY No. 51
CONFIDENTIAL
971
HKK 6/1
TO PRIORITY FCO TELENO 463 OF 17 JUNE INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG,
AND ROUTINE TO WASHINGTON UKDEL BRUSSELS AND UKMIS GENEVA.
MY TELEGRAM NO 451: GENERALISED PREFERENCES.
190
Copy out bitko? 17/6/71
1.
DORWARD CHONG KONG GOVERNMENT) AND I MET REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE MINISTRIES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND
INDUSTRY, AND AGRICULTURE ON 16 JUNE.
2. I OPENED BY SAYING THAT HONG KONG DID NOT SEEK SPECIAL TREATMENT,
BUT WAS CONCERNED THAT ITS ECONOMY SHOULD NOT BE HURT BY
DISCRIMINATORY ACTION. WE HAD BEEN PLEASED THAT MR. AICHI HAD
SAID IN LONDON THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT INTENDED THAT HONG
KONG SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THEIR GENERALISED PREFERENCE SCHEME
AT A LATER DATE, ALTHOUGH SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS. WE
LOOKED FORWARD TO AN EARLY DEFINITIVE STATEMENT BY THE JAPANESE
GOVERNMENT THAT HONG KONG WOULD BE INCLUDED.
3. THE JAPANESE SIDE SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT YET GIVE A FIRM
DATE FOR HONG KONG'S INCLUSION IN THE SCHEME, BUT THE MOST
CONVENIENT DATE WOULD BE THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, 1
APRIL 1972. NEITHER WERE THEY ABLE TO GIVE A LIST OF SENSITIVE
EXPORTS FROM HONG KONG WHICH MIGHT BE EXCLUDED. THEY SAID THAT
MOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN ASIA CINCLUDING TAIWAN), AFRICA AND
SOUTH AMERICA WOULD BE INCLUDED, EVEN THOSE APPLYING GATT
ARTICLE 35 AGAINST JAPAN. IN ADDITION TO HONG KONG, THE POSITION
OF OTHER DEPENDENT TERRITORIES WOULD BE REVIEWED LATER,
TOGETHER WITH THAI OF SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GREECE, TURKEY, ROMANIA
AND BULGARIA.
CONFIDENTIAL
14.