Brief
DSR 11C
HONG KONG AND THE EC'S NEW GSP
Line to Take (If raised)
1. Hong Kong demonstrably competitive in many areas:
-is treated the same as other similarly competitive
beneficiaries.
2. Would not have been possible to secure special
status for Hong Kong.
3. (If pressed) Will bear any specific Hong Kong
points in mind in annual reviews of GSP.
4.
(If necessary)(Hong Kong fortunate to be treated
1) Attempts to secure
as a developing country at all
special status could re-open hard fought battle we won
to include her in GSP when we joined EC.
Background
In the
4. The Community's new GSP (which came into force on 1 January and will run for 10 years) was drawn up against a background of recession and increasing protectionist pressures in most member states, circumstances it is as liberal as it was reasonable to expect, at least as regards manufactured products. Benefits were increased for the poorer developing countries and curtailed, to a fairly limited extent, for the Newly Industrialised Countries (NIC's) in areas where they are demonstrably competitive. For sensitive products the NIC's have been put under strictly controlled individual "tariff quotas", often at levels
Hong Kong well beneath those they enjoyed before. is unquestionably a NIC and is strongly competitive
/in