CONFIDENTIAL
With But
る
UK ALIGNMENT WITH EEC GSP
1.
The Governor is very concerned over the implications
of the UK's alignment with the EEC GSF, which is due to take
place on 1 January 1974.
2.
Whilst the EEC GSP includes Hong Kong as a beneficiary
it excludes her
P
alone among her competitors from benefit
in respect of textiles and footwear. The UK GSP excludes
both these commodities.
UK alignment would therefore entail
discrimination against her own colony in respect of these two
important exports, with serious political and economic effects.
The importance to Hong Kong of trying to get the EEC GSP
modified in some way so as to remove discrimination is accepted
by Sir D Watson, Mr Wilford and HKIOD.
3. On the other side Mr Robinson and EID are concerned with
the effect on our overall EEC policy of re-opening a question. that the other 8 members consider was settled in the negotia- tions leading up to the UK's accession to the EEC (a view which Hong Kong contest), and which is confirmed by Protocol 23
of the Treaty of Accession. Their view is that if the arrange- nients can be re-opened for Hong Kong then they can arguably be re-opened for UK domestic benefit (a point on which Mr Peter Shore is very strong) and also in the interest of independent Commonwealth countries and we shall come under pressure to do
30.
We avoided difficulty with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Ottawa only by holding firmly to the line (on the Secretary of State's instructions) that on 1 January 1974 we had no
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CONFIDENTIAL