که دو مگر تھے مارو
HOFO #39/22
Mr. William
PP DOI
RR FCC
GR 790
RESTRICTED
Please ensure this
Às armed ħ Athinion
FM BTC HONG KONG 0210212 OCT 81
TO PRIORITY DO 1
TELEGRAM NUMBER INDUS 125 OF 2 OCTOBER
INFO F C O (FOR CLIFT, HK AND GD)
THIS
GAM
WAS NOT ADVANCED."
DOT
41.
HICGIDS TRED
AKK 12.1.0.
No
FOR ATKINSON 1.T. DIVISION, DEAN BRADLEY HOUSE
PA C.S.E
8/10
YOUR INDUS 286. VISIT OF RIC DELEGATION, I ASSUME YOU WILL HAVE SEEN A COPY OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S TELEGRAM NO. 880 OF 1 OCTOBER TO THE FCO. I SAW A GOOD DEAL OF OLIVER SUTTON AND HIS COLLEAGUES WHO CALLED ON ME BEFORE THEIR VISIT TO DORWARD, DIRECTOR OF TRADE INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS. AS THEY CHOSE NOT REPEAT NOT TO REVEA
THE RECEIPT OF REVISED INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOU, I DID NOT ENLIGHTEN THEM ABOUT MY EXCHANGE OF TELEGRAMS WITH WHITEHALL DEPARTMENTS BUT WARNED THEM THAT THEY WOULD GET NOWHERE WITH A REQUEST FOR A VRA CR FOR OFFICIAL INTERVENTION TO STOP TAIWANESE OR KOREAN
TRANS-SHIPMENTS.
2. IN THE EVENT THEY FOLLOWED THEIR REVISED INSTRUCTIONS. HEWITT OF THORN/EMI, ACTING AS SPOKESMAN, OUTLINED THE ORIGINS OF THE VOLUNTARY RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS WITH KOREA AND TAIWAN, THESE WERE BEING CIRCUMVENTED ON MONOCHROME TVS (BY KOREA AND TAIWAN) AND ON MUSIC CENTRES (BY TAIWAN) BY MEANS OF MASSIVE TRANSSHIPMENTS IN HONG KONG. HE THANKED DORWARD FOR THE PROVISION OF EXPORT AND RE-EXPORT STATISTICS FOR TV SETS WHICH HAD ENABLED THE RIC TO EXPOSE THE TAIWANESE CIRCUMVENTION. NOT WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT, TAIWAN HAD AGREED TO ABANDON TRANSSHIPMENT VIA HONG KONG. HEWITT ASKED WHETHER IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO HAVE SIMILAR INFORMATION IN RESPECT OF COLOUR TV SETS AND MUSIC CENTRES.
IN THE ONLY OBLIQUE REFERENCE TO RESTRAINTS, SUTTON ADDED THAT DETERMINATION NOT TO ALLOW JAPAN AND OTHERS TO CIRCUMVENT VRAS BY MEANS OF OFFSHORE MANUFACTURE UNDER LICENCE IN PLACES SUCH AS HONG KONG EXPLAINED THE RIC'S INTEREST IN DISCUSSIONS WITH HONG KONG TV MANUFACTURERS.
3. DORWARD SAID THAT HE DOUBTED WHETHER THE HONG KONG ELECTRONICS
ASSOCIATION WOULD AGREE TO PROVIDE FORECASTS OF THEIR UK MARKETING PLANS (BECAUSE HONG KONG MANUFACTURERS PREFER TO OPERATE AS INDIVIDUAL ENTREPENEURS) AND THAT, EVEN IF THEY DID, THEY REPRESENTED ONLY ABOUT 18% OF HONG KONG'S ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY WHICH NOW COMPRISES OVER ONE THOUSAND FIRMS. AT THEIR SUBSEQUENT MEETING WITH THE ASSOCIATION, ONLY TWO OF THE MAJOR HONG KONG PRODUCERS OF TV SETS WERE PRESENT AND THE RIC HAD TO BE CONTENT WITH AN UNDERTAKING FROM THE SECRETARY TO ASK #IS MEMBERS WHETHER THEY WOULD PROVIDE A SIX MONTHLY FORECAST OF THEIR EXPORTS TO THE
UK.
4. DORWARD SAID THAT HIS DEPARTMENT WOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPLY STATISTICS ON BOTH MONOCHROME AND COLOUR TV SETS. THEY WOULD ALSO DO THEIR BEST TO PROVIDE SIMILAR DATA FOR MUSIC CENTRES ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO SEPARATE CUSTOMS DEFINITION FOR THIS ITEM IN THE SITC NOMENCLATURE USED BY HONG KONG, HONG KONG COULD NOT INTERFERE
WITH THE OPERATION OF ITS FREE PORT GIVEN THAT THE RE-EXPORT TRADE NOW REPRESENTED ABOUT A THIRD OF TOTAL EXPORTS. HEWITT ACCEPTED THAT IT WAS NOT THE JOB OF OFFICIALS TO PREVENT CIRCUMVENTION OF A VOLUNTARY RESTRAINT AGREEMENT AND THAT ENFORCEMENT WAS FOR THE RIC TO PURSUE WITH TAIWAN. NEVERTHELESS THE PROVISION BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OF ACCURATE AND ADVANCE STATISTICS ON TRADE FLOWS WAS AN INVALUABLE WEAPON, DORWARD SAID THAT HONG KONG WAS PLEASE TO CO-OPERATE - IT WAS IN THEIR OWN INTEREST TO GUARD AGAINST ATTEMPTS TO OBFUSCATE THE TRUE ORIGIN OF GOODS BY TRANSSHIPMENT IN HONG KONG, HE WONDERED WHY MAJOR IMPORTING COUNTRIES SUCH AS THE UK DID NOT DEMAND CERTIFICATES
OF ORIGIN.
5. DORWARD ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE RIC SHOULD RECOGNISE THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES MADE BY HONG KONG'S ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. THERE WERE GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCTION
SHARING, INVESTMENT AND JOINT VENTURES PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO THE TRANSFER OF OBSOLESCENT TECHNOLOGY. THE HONG KONG ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY WAS NOW IN A POSITION TO UNDERTAKE MORE ADVANCED PRODUCTION AND BRITAIN REMAINED A POOR THIRD BEHIND THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN IN THE USE OF HONG KONG AS AN OFFSHORE MANUFACTURING BASE, HEWITT SAID THAT THORNS HAD THEMSELVES CONCLUDED A HIGHLY SATISFACTORY ARRANGEMENT WITH PROMOTORS LTD (SEE MY RECENT VISIT REPORT). DICKMAN OF FIDELITY RADIO SUBSEQUENTLY
TOLD ME THAT HE WOULD BE INVESTIGATING THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME
OF CO-OPERATION WITH HONG KONG. I WAS ABLE TO ASSURE HIM THAT WE AND THE TICD STOOD READY TO PUT HIM IN TOUCH WITH POTENTIAL PARTNERS,
KIND
6. THE VISIT THEREFORE WENT AS I EXPECTED, ALTHOUGH I FEAR THAT THE CLOSURE OF THE TRANSSHIPMENT LOOPHOLE THROUGH HONG KONG MAY SIMPLY DIVERT SUCH TRADE WHERE IT CANNOT BE MONITORED, THE RIC WILL
FACE GROWING COMPETITION FROM HONG KONG DOMESTIC PRODUCERS OF COLOUR TELEVISION SETS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. THEY APPEAR TO HAVE ACCEPTED THAT THERE IS NO CHANCE OF A HONG KONG GOVERNMENT BACKED VRA. 1 ENCOURAGED THEM TO WORK FOR CO-OPERATION WITH THE MAJOR HONG KONG PRODUCERS IN ORDER TO DIVERT EROSION OF UK DOMESTIC MARKET BY MEANS OF CO-OPERATIVE VENTURES AIMED AT THIRD MARKETS.
7. I AM TELEGRAPHING SEPARATELY ABOUT YOUR VISIT HERE FROM OCTOBER 23 - 26 TO WHICH WE LOOK FORWARD.
MARCH