السا
CONFILENTIAL
such issues as greater liberalisation, larger
quotas for those member countries not currently as
A
we
are and free circulation.
generous as
natural result of this could be the removal of
textiles from the Community's GSP altogether.
The proposal has however received no support in
Brussels so far and it would be misleading to claim
that it has a good chance of success. A solution
on these lines however would be acceptable to
Hong Kong.
10. The Department of Trade and Industry are
committed to submitting a paper covering all the
questions of textiles arising in the context of
adaptation of the Com unity's scheme to the 200
Committee. They will await the views of FC
Ministe s on the long Kong problem before doing so.
we need to decide our line of approach in the
GSP alignment negotiations before the discussions
resume on 12 September.
RECOMMENDATION
12.
I recommend that the problem of Hong Kong's
exclusion from the GSP for textiles and footwear
should be further pursued with the Community with
a view to
(a) obtaining liong Kong's iuclusion without any
special exclusions in the EEC scheme with effect
from 1 January 1974; failing that-
(b) continuing to argue that textiles should be
taken from the GSP context (see paragraph 9 above)
(this will not help ong Kong on footwear); and
fa'ling that -
(c) considering how we might otherwise contrive to get Hong Kong no less favourable treatment under
6 CONFIDENTIAL
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