MEMORANDUM
1.
Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom has recently stated in the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community its intention to press for a substantial improvement in the position of Hong Kong in the Community's Generalised Scheme of Preferences.
2.
When Hong Kong was included in the scheme that was introduced on 1 July 1971, textiles and footwear from Hong Kong were specifically excluded from the benefits of the scheme.'
3.
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Since that time exports of Hong Kong textiles and footwear to the EEC have fallen markedly and the trend continues downwards.
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The discrimination has caused buyers increasingly to divert their orders away from Hong Kong 'to 'suppliers in 'countries.which are beneficiaries under the Scheme.
Comm
5.
Although the tariff quota and butoir systems limit the 'extent to which certain imports from each beneficiary can be admitted free of duty, nonetheless when orders are placed'in' a beneficiary country there exists for the importer the possibility that the goods will be admitted free of duty.
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