TNAG-0045-FCO40-81-Britain-s-entry-into-EEC-effect-on-trade-with-Hong-Kong-1967 — Page 139

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CONFIDENTIAL

BRIEF NO. G.1

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

PART I

Talking points for use with the Governor and Officials

FIJI

I do fully realise how dependent Fiji's economy is on

exports of sugar, much of which is sold to Britain.

If we

joined the Community, sugar would be one of the major problems.

Britain imports most of her sugar under the Commonwealth Sugar

Agreement, while the Community's sugar market is so organised

that all its sugar requirements are normally met by domestic

production, and the Community is in fact a net exporter.

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Association under Part IV of the Rome Treaty does not

include commodities such as sugar which are covered by the common

agricultural policy. Thus, unless special arrangements were made

for Commonwealth sugar producers like Fiji, Britain's supplies

of sugar would be increasingly obtained from domestic and

Community sources.

3.

It is too early for me to speculate about possible

solutions.

But you may rest assured that we are in no danger

of overlooking the interests of Fiji and the other Commonwealth

sugar producers.

CONFIDENTIAL