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THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1975
HE SAID THAT IF HONG KONG WERE TO MAKE RADICAL CHANGES NOW TO STIMULATE INVESTMENT IN NEW MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES THEY WOULD MAKE LITTLE CONTRIBUTION FOR SOME TIME TO COME.
→THIS YEAR,+ MR. JORDAN CONTINUED, +WE MUST RELY ON OUR ESTABLISHED INDUSTRIES. WE HAVE TO GET OUT AND SELL WHAT WE CAN MAKE NOW. AND THAT IS WHAT OUR MANUFACTURERS AND EXPORTERS ARE DOING.
MR. JORDAN ALSO REPLIED TO QUESTIONS FROM MR. FRANCIS TIEN) ON HONG KONG'S COMMERCIAL RELATIONS WITH ITS TRADING PARTNERS.
ON THE UNITED STATES GENERALISED SCHEME OF PREFERENCES, HE CONFIRMED THAT PRESIDENT FORD ISSUED TWO LISTS ON MARCH 18. ONE OF THESE CONTAINED THE NAMES OF COUNTRIES WHICH THE PRESIDENT INTENDED TO DESIGNATE AS BENEFICIARIES UNDER THE SCHEME AND THE OTHER CONTAINED THE NAMES OF THOSE WITCH COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR- DESIGNATION BUT ON WHICH A FINAL DECISION HAD NOT YET BEEN TAKEN, HONG KONG, HE SAID, WAS ON THIS LATTER LIST.
HE ADDED THAT HONG KONG HAD BEEN IN CLOSE AND CONSTANT TOUCH WITH THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN WASHINGTON, AND THAT THE EMBASSY HAD SUBMITTED EARLIER THIS YEAR AN AIDE-MEMOIRE WHICH SPELT OUT HONG KONG'S CASE FOR INCLUSION IN THE SCHEME- AND HAD BEEN WORKING VIGOROUSLY ON HONG KONG'S BEHALF. HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH THE LATEST INDICATIONS WERE REASONABLY ENCOURAGING, IT SEEMED THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME DOUBTS ABOUT HONG KONG'S CASE IN WASHINGTON.
MR. JORDAN CONFIRMED THAT HE WOULD BE LEAVING FOR WASHINGTON LATER THIS MONTI TO TRY AND DISPEL THESE DOUBTS.
ON THE COMMON MARKET'S GENERALISED SCHEME OF PREFERENCES, MR. JORDAN EXPLAINED THAT THIS WAS ANOTHER PIECE OF COMPLEX LEGISLATION WHICH WAS REVIEWED AND REVISED EACH YEAR, AND THAT IT WAS IN THE LATTER CONNECTION THAT HONG KONG RECEIVED A VISIT LAST MONTH FROM AN EEC COMMISSION DELEGATION LED BY MR. TRAN VAN THINH
MR. JORDAN DISCLOSED THAT MR. TRAN WAS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC THAT SOME OF THE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HONG KONG IN THE EEC'S SCHEME WOULD BE REMOVED WHEN THE DETAILS OF THE 1976 VERSION OF THE SCHEME WERE PUBLISHED LATER THIS YEAR.
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