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pressures, small and politically impotent units like
Hong Kong cannot place the reliance on the terms of the
GATT that they once could.
7. In these circumstances the Hong Kong Government is
acting along two lines:-
Z
(a)
S
बाक
(b)
It is doing everything it can to encourage
diversification of its economy, principally
by the provision of more land, and also of land
at preferential rates for new industry which will
assist diversification. Other aspects are being
examined by a specially appointed committee.
Hong Kong's imbalance of trade with its
major export markets represents a special
risk in the current protectionist atmosphere.
In particular the United Kingdom's commercial
stake in Hong Kong had been falling since 1962
to a point at which maintenance of political
interest and support was at risk. In consequence
the Hong Kong Government has been doing everything
it can to advertise Hong Kong as a market, and
also to continue quietly to influence Hong Kong
buyers to buy from countries which import from
Hong Kong. With the help of the DoT and various
bodies in Hong Kong and the UK, and in particular
of the office of the Senior British Trade
Commissioner, we are beginning to make headway
in the UK whose cxports increased by 30% last
CONFIDENTIAL.
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