1
CODE 18-77
SS 8/78
Mr Elliott
CONFIDENTIAL
Reference
MACAO AND THE EEC
1. With reference to the note you attached to Mr Crowe's undated minuté on this subject, I agree that we must oppose OCT status for Macao. Trade relations with the Community are a sore point in Hong Kong. Macao is now a small-scale, industrial competitor, especially in the sensitive textile sector. Any suggestion that she should be allowed to gain an inside track in trade with Western Europe would be very unpopular.
2.
As to présentation in open meetings on Portugal's accession the Hong Kong argument that complications vis-à-vis China must be avoided can perhaps be safely extended to Macao twice over: association would bring into the open not only the question of the status of Macao (which the Portuguese would surely not want) but also, with concern in Hong Kong for equal treatment, difficulties for the negotiations everybody knows we must have on the future of Hong Kong (which would also affect Macao). Moreover if it is asserted that Macao is less rich than Hong Kong (Mr Crowe's para 4), we could argue that this is so in absolute terms but not nearly so true in terms of standards of living.
3. But to end on a more optimistic note, whilst I can believe that the present quite dynamic governor might wish to try it on, I should be surprised if the Chinese would be agreeable to even a cosmetic designation of Macao as a Territoire d'Outre-Mer. If I am right the question of OCT status will of course not arise.
8 June 1982
cc (with enc): Mr Cox
CONFIDENTIAL
Mast
PA B Thomson