This
CONFIDENTIAL
an area where there are very strong anxieties
in other member states and it is scarcely realistic to
hope to get very far, apart from footwear, in next
year's scheme.
22. We have not since the Foreign Secretary's
statement raised in Brussels the problem of future years.
There will be considerable reluctance to considering
future years at all, on the grounds that the GSP scheme
is in principle something settled each year in the
light of the situation as it has by then developed.
23. Our objective is to get complete elimination over
time of the restrictive elements in the scheme, and a
y significantly better arrangement for Hong Kong.
It would be useful if a declaration could be secured
under which the Community would take note that it had
taken a substantial step forward in making the scheme
more valuable to developing countries and would express
its firm intention to continue this process in future
years with particular reference to the interests of the
poorer developing countries.
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