Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
Telephone 01-
Miss C H Welch
Commercial Relations & Export Division 2
Room 341
Department of Trade & Industry
1 Victoria Street
LONDON SW1H OET
Your reference
Pour reference HKK 6/548/118
Date 21 November 1973
MEETING WITH MR D H JORDAN
DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, HONG KONG
1. We spoke on the telephone about David Jordan's proposal which he discussed with Roy Denman when the latter was in Hong Kong, with talks between Mr Jordan and Officials in London on outstanding problems. A date has now been suggested for talks on 30 November but I understand that Mr Denman has not so far fixed a meeting.
2. Mr Sellars tells me that the items which Mr Jordan wishes to discuss are as follows:-
3.
(a) Textile policies and GSP, with specific reference to
(b) GATT textile negotiations
(c) Development of the EEC Common Commercial Policy (and
the need for sensible units of control in Agreements)
(d) Hong Kong's relations with the EEC
(e) Harmonisation of the UK and EEC's GSP
(f) Hong Kong's concern about discrimination in GSP's
("competitive needs concepts").
T
Whilst we in the FCO would be prepared to chair a meeting with Mr Jordan it seems to us and you agreed - that in view of both Mr Jordan's position as Director of Commerce and Industry and the list of subjects which he wished to discuss that it would be more appropriate for a DTI Official to chair a meeting. In fact, you suggested that it would probably be sensible to split the agenda and have one set of talks chaired by C & T Division (presumably Mr Philip Rigley, if he is free) for textiles and a second group covering the "EEC Subjects" chaired by CRE(1) (possibly Martin Lam). We would go along with this. It also has the advantage of making
/the talks less
(3)