CONFIDENTIAL
Drips for discussin will Severna (KG/3
UK ALIGNMENT WITH EEC GSP
1.
The Governor is very concerned over the implications
of the UK's alignment with the EEC GST, which is due to take
place on 1 January 1974.
Tren
2.
Whilst the EMC CSP includes Hong Kong as a beneficiary
it excludes her 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 Trotocol 23
of the Treaty of Accession. Their view is that if the arrange-
ments 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
GO.
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
/alternativ
CONFIDENTIAL
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