CONFIDENTIAL.
CR L/M 4/81 to CR 6/6201/69
Meeting of the Lord Frivy Seal with the Textiles Advisory Board at lunch on 8 January 1982
Mr. Dorward, as Chairman of the Board, introduced Mr. Atkins to the other guests at the lunch and invited Mr. Atkins to speak.
2.
Mr. Atkins said that while he very much
wanted to hear the views of Members, he had to stress that he was the Deputy Foreign Secretary and would not claim to be as knowledgeable about trade matters as his colleague, Mr. Biffen, the Secretary of State for Trade.
3.
Miss Dunn referred to a statement made by Mr. Biffen in House of Commons on 22 December 1981 in which he had said that unless the European Community could come to satisfactory bilateral agreements during the negotiations in 1982, the Community would have to withdraw from the MFA. She was conerned at the implication that the European Community was determined to impose its will on its trading partners and she questioned whether under such circumstances the MIA had any value.
the
4.
Mr. Atkins replied that the question was whether there was an alternative. If there were no MFA, importing countries would almost inevitably introduce legislation to control imports and exporting countries would be worse off. That was the rationale for HMG endeavouring to secure an MFA first and then use it in a way to secure its objectives,
5.
Mr. Tang asked whether, in view of Hong Kong's constitutional relations with the UK and its open market system, HMG would be in a position to ensure that no further cutbacks on its access to the Community would be inflicted when the current bilateral agreement fell to be re-negotiated. He stressed that he did not suggest Hong Kong should be given more favourable treatment, but rather that Hong Kong should be given equitable treatment. Mr. Chen added that an assurance to that effect had in fact been given and asked how that assurance would be given effect.
6.
Mr. Atkins said that in the various discussions in Brussels on this subject, HMG had repeatedly emphasized the special position of Hong Kong. But the reality was that the EEC would have to negotiate something like 27 new bilateral agreements and treatment of Hong Kong would have to be looked at in that context. If Hong Kong were to be singled out for particularly harsh treatment, however, he thought it would be the duty of HMG to defend Hong Kong's interests.
/7.