DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
1 VICTORIA STREET
LONDON SW1H DET
01 222 7377
w/27
Mr AC Stuart
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Department King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
GENERALISED SCHEME OF DREFERENCES: HONG KONG
19 February 1974
Mr Crowson
Sood
4/2012
Thank you for your letter of 15 February. You appear to have misunderstood the third paragraph of my letter. This concerned the final sentence of the Hong Kong telegram relating to market conditions in the United Kingdom - "a fear of generally soft market conditions in 1974". My paragraph 3 was merely to indicate that given conditions under which British industry is working the three day week and all that it seems unlikely that the Hong Kong industry's concerns about "soft marketing conditions" appear likely to be realised.
2. It was not, and is not, my intention to suggest that we should tell Hong Kong that her industry's wishes on the GSP will not be realised. This should have been made clear by our agreement with the line in Mir Hart's telegram which concludes, "We remain determined, as made clear by the Chancellor of the Duchy in the Council in Brussels
to do all we can to get the discrimination against
Hong Kong removed."
3.
I am copying this letter to the recipients of yours.
János qpmazok
JB INGRAM
co: Miss Lackey
Mr Braithwaite- WOD, FCO
Mr Cloake
- CRE 2/3, DTI
TRED, FCO
Mr Youde
FCO
i.
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