RESTRICTED
4. IN AN UNEXPECTED REFERENCE TO HONG KONG THE FRENCH REPEATED THE POINT (FOOTNOTE ON PAGE 4 OF DOCUMENT S/831/74) THAT THEY
REGARDED HONG KONG AS A SPECIAL CASE. IN THEIR VIEW HONG KONG
SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY AND SHOULD BE GIVEN A SPECIAL LOW GROWTH RATE. THE FIGURE OF 1% WAS MENTIONED. WE
SAID WE COULD NOT AGREE TO ANY DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HONG KONG.
5.
THE COMMISSION DREW ATTENTION TO THE NEED TO SETTLE GROWTH
RATES FOR THE QUOTAS OF THE COUNTRIES WHOSE FORMER LTA AGREEMENTS
WITH THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN TEMPORARY PROLONGED TO COVER 1974,
PENDING THE NEGOTIATION OF NEW AGREEMENTS. ON SOUTH KOREA AND
EGYPT, WHICH HAVE NOT APPROACHED THE COMMUNITY, AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ON A GROWTH RATE OF 6%. THERE WAS ALSO THE SUPPORT FOR
GIVING 6% TO INDIA AND PAKISTAN BOTH OF WHOM HAVE PUT IN DEMANDS
TO THE COMMUNITY FOR HIGHER RATES OF GROWTH. THE INDIANS HAVE
ASKED FOR CONSULTATIONS AND A MEETING IS TO BE HELD WITH THEM ON 25 JULY, TO BE PRECEDED BY A COMMUNITY COORDINATION MEETING THE
SAME MORNING. WE POINTED OUT THAT WE HAD SEPARATE AGREEMENTS WITH
THESE COUNTRIES AND SAID WE WOULD BE FOLLOWING THE COMMUNITY'S LEAD
IN AUTONOMOUSLY PROLONGING OUR AGREEMENTS WITH GROWTH RATES BASED
ON PAST PRACTICE. THE INDIANS WILL ALSO BE RAISING THE DIFFERENCE
IN TREATMENT FOR TOWELS AND BEDSHEETS BETWEEN THE UK AND OTHER
MEMBER STATES.
FCO PASS ADVANCE COPIES TO:-
FCO
HART (EID), BOWN (TRED).
DOI
MISS LOWNE.
DOT
MISS ELLIOTT.
PALLISER
[ADVANCED AS REQUESTED]
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FILES DISTRIBUTION
EID
TRED
HKIOD
MR MARSHALL
SIR D MAITLAND
MR WILFORD
2 -
RESTRICTED
ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION
FRAME
Page 30Page 31