Enter
I MO
ROIT
With the compliments of
THE SENIOR BRITISH TRADE
COMMISSIONER
HONG KONG
ник
MEK 121/10
BUVAU MBEOISTRY MD. ST
12 NOV 1981
DESK OFFICER
RACISTAY
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Reference.....
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Mr.T. Muir URE 4/2, DOT.
Mr.
& Schift
TV EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TO THE UK
Mr Reay Atkinson, Head of Information, Technology Division in the Department of Industry visited Hong Kong on October 26. After a meeting with me to discuss the recent exchanges with his division about the circumvention of Voluntary Restraint Agreements by trans-shipment via Hong Kong we went on to meet Mr Dorward, the Director of Trade Industry and Customs. Τ think I was able to convince Mr Atkinson that the DOI should abandon any attempt to persuade the Hong Kong Government to accept a VRA on Hong Kong domestic exports of TV sets to the UK. I think that Mr Dorward's forthright statement at the opening of the Electronics Fair (our INDUS 135 and 136 of 15 October) persuaded Mr Atkinson to concentrate on the trans-shipment problem.
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He left with me a copy of the RIC/BREMA report on their visit to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore which contained the phrase "Dorward's surprisingly accepted step to stop Taiwan's trans-shipments". I told Mr Atkinson that this was simply a recognition by Mr Dorward that the Hong Kong Government could not object if the Taiwanese trans-shipment trade came to an end as a result of an undertaking by the Taiwanese to abide by the VRA. But it certainly did not mean that the Hong Kong Government would take action to interfere with legal trans-shipment trade. I said once again that the next move was at the UK end. HM Customs needed to investigate selected imports to establish either that Taiwanese TV sets trans-shipped in Hong Kong had been wrongly classified as imports from Hong Kong or that there had been a deliberate attempt to obscure the Taiwanese origin of the goods. in the latter case could the Hong Kong customs authorities take action against the trade and it was up to the investigatory service of HM Customs and Excise to produce prima facie evidence of fraudulent documentation.
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Mr Dorward together with Mr Jordan, Director of Customs, explained that Taiwanese trans-shipment of television sets shown in Hong Kong figures as re-exports would have been deemed to have entered the territory. On re-shipment to the UK they would require a customs declaration of entry, a commercial invoice and shipping documents to underwrite the difference between the stated ex-factory price and the CIF price and to verify the customs entry declaration. Such documentation should show the country of origin but since the UK does not require a Certificate of Origin, the Hong Kong Government does not issue such a document. All Hong Kong manufacturers need export licences for TV sets (and all other powered electrical apparatus) and this safety requirement enables the Hong Kong Government to check on Domestic TV industry exports. If HMG introduced a requirement for all TV sets to be accompanied by a Certificate of Origin, the Hong Kong Government would be happy to oblige. Mr Atkinson took careful note; this is certainly a means by which circumvention of VRAS could be prevented.
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Mr Atkinson also noted the opportunities which Hong Kong manufacturing capabilities afforded for British firms. When speaking to the sector working party he will now be armed with material to counter unrealistic demands for controls against all exports of TV sets from South-east and East Asia.
30.10.81
DMM/FJ
Jo%
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D M March
Senior Trade Commissioner
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