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4.
CCP AND TEXTILES
Miss Lowne said Britain's proposals incorporating the principle of burden sharing, no-quick, and freer circulation, had been launched in Brussels. Difficult negotiations would follow. Mr Jordan remarked that the enlarged Community was by far the most important market for Hong Kong textiles, taking some 40% of total exports, appreciably more than the United States. A discussion on swing followed in which Mr Jordan stressed the advantage that could accrue to the importer.
5. GSP AND TEXTILES
Replying to a question from Mr Jordan on whether it was really impossible to do anything about the exclusion of Hong Kong textiles and footwear from the 1974 GSP, Kr Ingram considered it very unlikely that anything could be done about discrimination in the 1974 scheme, Mr Dorward expressed concern about the Commission's new notion of "super-competitiveness", under which Hong Kong, with Romania, had been singled out for special treatment. He went on to underline that while inclusion in the GSP had very little practical benefit for exporters, exclusion had a much greater opposite effect and encouraged a diversion of trade from Hong Kong to her competitors when those competitors were not also excluded. The Hong Kong team stressed the importance both for eonomic and political reas ons of some progress being made to improve Hong Kong's position in the GSP before 1975.
It was agreed that another meeting of Whitehall and Hong Kong officials should be held in the New Year to consider the UK's tactios on Hong Kong's behalf in next year's review by the EEC of the 1975 GSP in particular, a sequence of fall-back demands if it proved impossible to secure Hong Kong's full inclusion in the textiles and footwear concessions.
6.
HONG KONG
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RBC TRẤTILES AGREEMENT
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Mr Jordan gave notice that Hong Kong would adopt a more inflexible attitude than they had done during negotiations over the last agreement; this was because the side letters to that agreement had been interpreted by the Six as immutable whereas Hong Kong had been given to understand there would be some flexibility.
7.
FRINCH ILLEGAL RESTRICTIONS
Mr Jordan recalled Mr Rippon's assurances that these would be tackled, but nothing had yet been done. The Whitehallteam were sympathetic about this problem, but felt that if the restrictions were legalised under Article XV, Hong Kong's position would be worse than at present.
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