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Mr Stuar
CONFIDENTIAL
DA
Goodfellow do
to 3x11
HONG KONG AND THE GSP
A
11/12
see record
шабир
with ne
al
1. At the risk of duplicating records of other conversations
with Mr David Jordan I should record that he made the following
points to me on the question of Hong Kong and the Community's
GSP:
(a)
Business in Hong Kong was only just beginning to realise
the consequences of the discrimination against the
Colony's textiles and footwear which will begin on
1 January 1974. There were already signs that trade
was being diverted away from Hong Kong and unless a
decision were taken reasonably early in 1974 to remove
the discrimination, then contracts for the first part
of 1975 would also have been placed.
(b) For this reason Hong Kong had a strong interest in
discussions on the removal of the discrimination being
commenced early in 1974. There were those who were
saying to Hong Kong that we should allow the Community
to make proposals about timing and the solution of the
problem, but Sir Christopher Soames had said to him
exactly the opposite i.e. that it was up to the British
Government to make the running.
(c) There would be advantage in Hong Kong being consulted
on the way in which the British Government proposed to
play the hand in Brussels.
11 December 1973
Copy to:
Sir Duncan Watson
CONFIDENTIAL
Japanes
Youde