CONFIDENTIAL
dependency. At home we can point to the specific
promises to Hong Kong made by Mr Rippon in 1971, to
distinguish this case from other demands which were
not made at the time. Parliament expects the Government
to keep its word, and an approach on this point to the
Community is likely to get substantial support from both
parties. We can take the same line with the Indians
and others, while pointing out that the constitutional
position of a dependent territory is necessarily
different from their own.
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8. The alternatives to trying to persuade the Community
to admit Hong Kong to its GSP on footwear and textiles
would be to propose that they should exclude these
categories from the Community's GSP altogether; or that
they should limit the damage by lowering the Butoirs (on these
categories; or that they should take the whole question
of textiles out of the GSF context and consider it in
the wider context of the Community's textiles policy.
The first of these possibilities would be contrary to
the policy laid down by the 1972 European Summit and
inconsistent with the conclusions of the GATT Ministerial
meeting in Tokyo; the second is open to the same objection
and would not meet Hong Kong's political requirements;
nor would the third, which anyway stands very little
chance of success, and would not solve the problem of
footwear.
9. I conclude that we must ask the Community to
Colton onj
extend its GSP textiles and
xtiles and footwear to Hong Kong.
We may not succeed in getting everything that Hong Kong
wants: For example it will be more difficult to argue
for f
the case for footwear, where the position of Hong Kong's
/major
(ie. Limits
within
the duty- hu
quotas which limit the benefits.
to any one country.)
cotton
no-
cotton textiles and
for
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