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the Silberston report to sink in for a few weeks rather than leaping on it immediately as evidence of the need for rapid change.
6. On anti-dumping, Mr Chan welcomed Sir David Hannay's account of recent UK initiatives within the Community to convince the Commission and other member states of the need for evolutionary changes in anti-dumping law and practice within the timescale of the Uruguay Round. Mr Chan agreed that changes of this sort would be of help to Hong Kong. Hong Kong was not opposed to anti-dumping as such but did not wish the highly technical business of implementation in particular cases to be abused for protectionist ends. Mr Chan was concerned that the EC contemplated using anti-dumping mechanisms against Hong Kong sendings of MFA products, and was worried that frivolous anti- dumping suits had a disruptive effect on those accused of dumping, even if cases were subsequently dropped. Sir David Hannay accepted that the existence of a complaint had an effect on the market, but doubted whether frivolous complaints got very far before they were turned down, and expected that European industry would avoid purely frivolous complaints, for fear of prejudicing their chances with the Commission in subsequent, better founded cases. Mr Chan accepted Sir David Hannay's advice that the Commission would respond more readily to calls for modest improvements in anti-dumping practice if Hong Kong and other exporting countries were able to reassure Commission officials concerned that more radical changes were not on the agenda for the Uruguay Round.
7. Mr Chan thanked Sir David Hannay for his efforts in securing the agreement of the Commission and of the Belgian government to a free-standing Hong Kong ETO. Sir David Hannay confirmed that the business was proceeding on track for the present. The Commission and the Belgians had tried to be as helpful as possible. The establishment of a free-standing office should be a significant boost to Hong Kong.
8.
Mr Chan raised the timetable for opening a Commission office in Hong Kong. Sir David Hannay recalled that HMG had already pressed on Andriessen the desirability of a public announcement that 1991 was the target date. Sir David Hannay would pursue this with the Director-General for external relations when they met later in the day.
Robert Docklig Добейс
Robert Madelin
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