Mr Darwin
Second Legal Adviser
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11/1 49
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RA E Gordon, ECD (E)
From:
Date:
19 May 1987
CC:
Miss Shepherd, NTD
Mr Hill, HKD
Mr Hawes, Customs and
Excise
Miss Beald, Customs and
Excise
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE HARMONISED COMMODITY DESCRIPTION
AND CODING SYSTEM
I was grateful for your comments, and those of Miss Shepherd,
on Julia King's minute of 13 April on procedures for UK
ratification, and for the extension of the Convention to dependent
territories.
1.
2.
At the risk of retracing familiar territory, it may be helpful if I were to set out my understanding of the rather complex
problems posed by Hong Kong's wish only partially to apply the
Harmonised System Convention:
a) The Chinese and the UK are agreed that Hong Kong is eligible
under Article 2(a)2 of the CCC to become a full member of the CCc.
It has been agreed that the UK and the Chinese will make a joint
demarche to the CCC Secretariat in June, with the aim of having
Hong Kong's application for full membership dealt with at the June
CCC sessions (Ottawa, 22-26 June).
b) Hong Kong is under the impression that it is ineligible to
become a Contracting Party to the HS Convention. Article 11 of
the HS Convention specifies that only States or Customs or
Economic Unions to which competence has been transferred to enter
into treaties in repect of some or all of the matters governed by
the HS Convention are eligible to become Contracting Parties.
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