ta
this discrimination.
2.
Provided you see no objection, grateful if
you will raise this matter under "Other Business"
during this week's meeting of the Committee of
Permanent Representatives (COREPER). In doing so,
you should draw on the following points:-
greatly
(a)
(b)
Successive British Governments have
drawn attention to the need to end the
discriminatory practice whereby Hong
Kong's footwear and textile exports
have been excluded from the Community's
GSP: in the Council of Ministers on
6 November 1973 the then Chancellor of
the Duchy of Lancaster said that we
intended to press most resolutely for
Hong Kong's textiles and footwear to
be included in the scheme, and in a
statement to the Council of Ministers on
4 June this year I said that we
needed substantial improvements in the
position of Hong Kong in the GSP;
Vie are pleased that the Commission have
proposed the inclusion of Hong Kong's
footwear exports and we hope that this
will soon be accepted generally by the
Community as a whole. But we are
LondĹdisappointed that the Commission do not
intend to include any of Hong Kong's
products in its proposals for textile
coverage under the GSP;
(c)
Since the GSP arrangements for Hong Kong
were agreed in 1971 the situation has
changed considerably.
The Phillipines,
/Thailand
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN in this MARGIN