NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
ORCID I
prospect, together with the question of presentation
in Hong Kong. Our aim should be to enable the Prime
Minister to point to what has been achieved and to fit
this into the theme of a mutually profitable
relationship between Britain and Hong Kong.
4.
On Sterling, an interim agreement covering the
period up to March 1974 should shortly be reached.
The outstanding problem is how to get this across
to official and unofficial circles in Hong Kong as a
success, without jeopardising our agreements with the
other major holders of Sterling. There is also the
question of the longer term future. If no formal
agreement remains after March 1974 governing Hong
Kong's use of its reserves, how far can they in fact
be left to make their own decisions, and how far will
we still expect them, as a dependent territory, to do
what we tell them?
5.
We have made a declaration to the Council of
Ministers on the exclusion of Hong Kong's textiles
and footwear from the Community's GSP. The problem
of presentation arises from our acceptance of the
fact that we cannot remove discrimination on these
items until after we ourselves have aligned with the
scheme. There will therefore inevitably be a period
during which we are seen to discriminate against our
own colony. The damage can be minimised by stressing
our determination to get this discrimination removed
in the context of the 1974 annual review. But this
would be dangerous if we are not really resolute, or
do not anyway believe that the Community will in the
end agree.
6.
We can at this moment say little in Hong Kong
AECRET
/on the
"