THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1984
23
HK KEEPING UP FIGHT AGAINST U.S. ORIGIN RULES
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HONG KONG COULD SPARE NO EFFORT IN FIGHTING THE UNITED STATES' COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REGULATIONS, WHICH CAME INTO EFFECT ON SEPTEMBER 7, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRADE, MR DONALD TSANG, SAID TODAY
(THURSDAY).
THE FIGHT WOULD BE KEPT UP UNTIL OUR PROBLEMS ARE
SATISFACTORILY RESOLVED+, MR TSANG TOLD A LUNCH MEETING OF THE TS IM SHA TSUI KAIFONG ASSOCIATION.
THE GOVERNMENT WOULD WORK CLOSELY WITH THE TRADE AND OTHER EXPORTING COUNTRIES IN ESCALATING OPPOSITION IN BOTH THE BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL FORUMS+.
WITHIN HONG KONG, ALL GROUPS WERE WORKING TOGETHER TO HAVE THE REGULATIONS RESCINDED, HE SAID.
THE MEDIA AS WELL AS THE LOCAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY GROUPS HAD ALSO BEEN MOST ACTIVE HERE AND OVERSEAS AND FULLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S ACTION.
LET'S HOPE THAT REASON WILL EVENTUALLY PREVAIL AND A FAVOURABLE CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE BEFORE LONG, HE SAID.
BUT MR TSANG ADDED THAT AS THE US REGULATIONS HAD APPARENTLY BEEN MOTIVATED BY POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, IT WOULD NOT BE REALISTIC TO EXPECT A SUDDEN REVERSAL OF THE POSITION BEFORE THE ELECTIONS ON NOVEMBER 6.
HE DESCRIBED THE PROMULGATION OF THE REGULATIONS AS +A LETHAL BLOW+. IT FOLLOWED A SERIES OF +PUNITIVE MEASURES DIRECTED AT HONG KONG AND OTHER TEXTILE EXPORTING COUNTRIES SINCE DECEMBER LAST YEAR IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE U.S. DOMESTIC TEXTILE AND GARMENT INDUSTRIES, HE SAID.
THE REGULATIONS WOULD AFFECT $2.2 BILLION WORTH OF HONG KONG'S EXPORTS TO THE U.S., $1.9 BILLION OF WHICH REPRESENTED SWEATERS EXPORTS.
OVER 95 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S WOOLLEN SWEATER EXPORTS TO THE U.S. WOULD BE AFFECTED, WITH CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS OF EARNINGS FOR AS MANY AS 50 000 WORKERS IN HONG KONG AND 100 000 IN CHINA, MOSTLY IN GUANGDONG PROVINCE.
+ THE SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE WOOLLEN SWEATERS QUOTAS WHICH HONG KONG HAS PAINFULLY EARNED OVER THE YEARS IS LIKELY TO BECOME USELESS BECAUSE THE SWEATERS, CONTAINING PANELS KNITTED IN CHINA, ARE NOW REGARDED AS ORIGINATED IN CHINA,+ MR TSANG SAID.
NEWS AGENCIES REPORTED THAT THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (EEC) HAD PROTESTED AGAINST THE U.S. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REGULATIONS DURING THE MEETING OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT) COUNCIL IN GENEVA ON OCTOBER 2.
/ON THESE .*****