XN000022-1978-01-27 — Page 12

PA 34

天 香港政府

GIS 新聞處

DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN

SUPPLEMENT

Friday, January 27, 1978

Speech By Governor At The Hong Kong General Chamber

Of Coerce Committec Fienbers Annual Dinner

The following is the full text of the speech by the Governor, Sir Murry clehose, at the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Committee Members Annual Dinner this evening:

I should like to start by talking about and around the problem that has concerned us all so much since the middle of last year, that is the trend to protectionism, which was such a ferture of our major m.rkets

in 1977 and which shows no signs of failing.

I will not rake over the singularly unedifying story of the negotiations in Brussels, All the credit goes to our negotiators :nd all the odium to the Governments who handed down the mandate to which the

Commission worked.

The aspect of this dikt.t in which 1 soc the greatest dungur is that the EEC breached and deliberately breached, and refused even to discuss as relevant, various international undertakings about the conduct of

The rule of law in international trade to which they had subscribed. international trade broadly associated with the Gener:l Agreement on Trade and Tariffs has served the world well for a quarter of a century.

It has been

If

a considerable factor in the unprecedented expansion of world trade. those rules fall into disregard it will be the weak and the small who suffer. Indeed it is significant that the most likely gainers from the EEC restrictions will not be the producers of Europe, far less the allegedly deserving and somewh..t hypothetical new entrants into the market, but the exporters of large unrestrained countries like the U., and Japan.

We know

Issued by Government Information Services, Beaconsfield House, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-233191