HKK 121/610/1
CONFIDENTIAL
D N March Esq OBE
Senior British Trade Commissioner
HONG KONG
10 October 1977
HKK 121 616)
37
बूं
MFA PROGRESS REPORT
1. The past six weeks have seen a flurry of activity in connection with the Multi-Fibre Arrangement and it is perhaps time that I brought you up to date.
2. As you probably know, a team of officials from the EEC Commission, led by Tran Van Thinh, had talks in Hong Kong on 8 and 9 August with officials in the Trade, Industry and Customs Department. They outlined their thoughts on the forthcoming bilateral negotiations that they hope will lead up to a renewal of the MFA at the end of the year, and also sounded out the Hong Kong viewpoint. The main purpose of Tran's visit was to assist him in drawing up a draft negotiating mandate to be used by the EEC Representatives in the bilateral negotiations.
3.
The
Tran's proposals provoked sharp reactions in Hong Kong. Governor wrote to Donald Murray on 3 September, enclosing a detailed memorandum on the Hong Kong case and asking that he should be recalled to put Hong Kong's case personally to Ministers.
A copy of the Governor's letter is enclosed: you may be particularly interested in his contention that, if the EEC takes a hard line on Hong Kong's textile exports, this could damage Britain's prospects of gaining major export contracts (paragraph 8 of the Governor's letter).
4. The Prime Minister eventually agreed that the Governor should be recalled and he arrived in London on 26 September accompanied by Bill Dorward. In the FCO he saw the PUS and Hugh Cortazzi, and he also had a joint session with the two Ministers of State (the Secretary of State was away in New York). On the next day, the 27th, he saw the Secretary of State for Trade, Edmund Dell and Alan Williams, the Minister of State at the Department of Industry, before flying to Brussels to put his case to the Commission. I attach copies of the records of his meeting with Frank Judd and Lord Goronwy-Roberts, and with Commissioner Haferkamp in Brussels.
CONFIDENTIAL