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193
15th September, 1967
83
Tong Tong
Mackay held a meeting on 25th August to discuss the remit to sag the Treasury in conclusion 1 of item 3 of OPDO (DR) (67)35th meeting. We have since received a note on financial points from the Bank of England under cover of Turner's letter of 4th September and a note on trade points under cover of Darlington's letter of 7th September to Mackay. At the meeting of the OPDO (DR) Committee, on 11th September, however, it was established that at this stage what was required was simply an answer to the question as to what the loss of Hong Kong would mean for the U.K. economy.
2. I have now prepared the enclosed very rough draft of a paper addressed to this question which I would like to discuss at a meeting in my room here (room 80, first floor) at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 19th September. I would be very grateful if you, Turner (Bank of England) and Daniel (D.E.A.) to whom I am sending copies of this letter and enclosure could attend or arrange to be represented. I am also sending a copy for information to Carter at the Commonwealth office and if he wishes to attend (or be represented) he would be welcome.
3. You will no doubt have a number of comments on the draft but there are two specific points on which I would be particularly
The first grateful if you or your representative could be forearmed. is that while the note which Darlington sent us put U.K. imports from Hong Kong in 1966 at 80.6 million, the "Hong Kong: Report for the year 1966" puts Hong Kong exports to the U.K. (including a small sum for re-exporta) at 1,011 million Hong Kong dollars or £63.6 million. (I have used this figure in my paper) - we need to iron out this discrepancy. Secondly paragraph 12 of the draft states that goods of Chinese origin of the kinds which form a major part of Hong Kong's industrial production are subject to quota under our present import regine for China a superficial scrutiny suggests that this is correct but I would be grateful if you could check it.
5. Turner will note that my draft draws little, if at all, on the note which he kindly supplied, This is of course because a large part of his note was addressed to a somewhat different question. However, we are grateful for the material he gave us and I am sure that it will be useful at a later stage in the exercise, last meeting of the OPDO (DR) it was agreed that the Commonwealth Office
M.S. Morris, Esq.,
Board of Trade, Victoria Street, LONDON, 8.W.1.
At the
/would
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