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is withmetical factors only?
M
them has been approached by Giscard. The CS and previous FS say that Shultz, since leaving office, has extolled to them in general terms the virtues of Bechtel in the same way that, eg Lord Young, since ceasing to be a Minister, has spoken in favour of his own company, Cable and Wireless. Oddly enough, although Shultz was here over the weekend and the Bechtel contract is up for renewal, he has not asked to see me and did not actually mention the contract at a dinner attended by senior Government officials, including the FS.
Those I consulted said that the only experience they had had of lobbying by Ministers in office was from the UK - although the FS has received today a low-level written endorsement for one particular American company from a Deputy Secretary for Transportation. I myself was once telephoned by Mosbacher to press the claims of a company from his own state. In recording what he said, I instructed that his representations should have no bearing on the relevant decision - either for or against. Put politely, I said the same to him. I have also been lobbied by the US Consul-General to reverse a decision on excluding a particular consortium, which had an American consultant, from the pre-qualification exercise for the Lantau Bridge. I turned him down. (As noted in my letter of 7 October, this happened just when Mr Gummer was being told we were loading the dice in favour of the Americans!)
I am not suggesting that Ministers should refrain from pressing the merits of British business. I accept that they believe it right to do so and must, in any case, be able to say that they have. But you should not be under the mistaken impression that, by doing so, they are simply keeping up with others. They are way
ahead.
The second point is your comment that some British firms, eg Balfour Beatty, have been saying that we will deliberately spread contracts around several countries to win ourselves political friends elsewhere. Not so.
There is no such decision or intention. Each contract will be decided on what provides the best deal for Hong Kong. I have now seen the telegrams recording how Andrew Burns and Robin McLaren responded to Balfour Beatty on this point. The responses were absolutely correct and I am grateful that the real situation was put across so clearly.