Be
GATT. We have so far been able to meet all Hong Kong's requests for help in this dispute it must be said however that the requests have been of a fairly minor nature.
I am reasonably hopeful that if we do get a formal request for more positive action on our part we may be able to carry the LOT, but we can give no guarantee of this. I understand that the Department of Trade, Industry and Customs are grateful for the help they have received from our Embassy
in Oslo.
4.
Relations with the FCO
These relations reached their nadir during last year's MFA negotiations. Since then there has been a good deal of improvement, not least because of the efforts made by Mr Lawrie Mills, Director of Trade, in keeping us informed of Hong Kong's activities in the international trade sphere. It would be appropriate for you to express our appreciation at Mr Mills' frankness and also at the time he has devoted
to this.
It would also be appropriate to stress to David Jordan that this department does make every effort to represent and support the Hong kong case. You confirmed this in a letter earlier this year dealing with imports of non-leather footwear into the UK, but certainly a year ago there was considerable reservation in Hong Kong that this was the case.