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a third country would, for practical and economic
reasons, be unpalatable to the Community. Moreover,
there are likely to be doctrinal objections,
principally from the Commission, to any arrangement
which seemed to preserve something of the United
Kingdom's independent status in the GATT in fields such
as tariff negotiations where the Community operates as
a single unit with the Commission as its appointed
spokesman.
The Community are likely to see the
problem primarily as a policy, rather than a legal,
issue.
Tactics and Timing
12 Our delegations in Geneva and Brussels agree
that it would be advisable for policy to be clarified
between Whitehall and Hong Kong before approaching the
Community. Having made up our minds, we should then
raise the issue with the Community fairly speedily as
it would be unwise and perhaps dangerous to wait
for the situation in 1973 to force a decision.
Geneva would like to have authority to discuss the
question in confidence with the GATT Secretariat as
soon as possible.
UKMIS
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department
August 1972