Cexplies Suipped against quo las in
971, but
arriving in Britain in 1972.
4.
972,
A decision int to give relief from Duty for the fire hum monits
the Chancellor of refused to f→ give on muincy place in the Finance Bill world
the Exchequer's
sjposition would involve would be
bull te Dü
so strongly, by India and Pakistan).
which
mattr
inevitable,
badly received in Hong Kong (and possibly, though not
Furthermmon the ocasion infusi
じ The Hore so because
of the current negotiations with the Colony over the
their
نا
size of defence contribution for the next five years.
These negotiations are not going well. We have been
advised by the Governor that one of the main reasons for this is "the resentment which has accumulated over the
last 15-20 years and more especially over the last 8
years or so, over actions by HMG of various kinds which
have appeared locally to constitute a disregard for
Hong Kong's needs, rights and vital interests". The
Governor has urged, more than once, that everything possible should be done by HMG to counteract this feeling.
RECOMMENDATION
5. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's main argument for
excluding tariff relief from the Finance Bill seems to be
for legislative rather than financial reasons; the
financial aspects, as they affect Hong Kong in the cotton textiles and defence areas are set out in the attached
of a
draft letter which I recommend that the Secretary of State send to the Chancellor of the Exchequer; Hong Kong and South Asian Departments agree with this
recommendation.
come
Ad-
an awenend
moment-
draft and the
CONFIDENTIAL
мож
26%
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