TNAG-0046-FCO40-82-Britain-s-entry-into-EEC-effect-on-trade-with-Hong-Kong-1967 — Page 167

cheapest market. Even on purely public finance

grounds, there seem to be an unneccessarily rigid

attitude. Considering that France for example

applies sovers restrictions on imperta from Hong Kong,

it is difficult to see the justification of awarding

contracts to French firms (as has been done in

important cases) even if thair prices are marginly

lower than those of other contractors,

The margin

after all, is not likely to be all that great.

This is another point on which we think we could well

press the Hong Kong delegation harder.

As regards (d) we shall be taking up with the

Foreign Office in seperate correspondence the

question whether political considerations really

debar us from devolving full autonomy to Hong Kong

in the conduct of her external commercial relations

and thus enabling her to become a Contracting Party

to the 9.A.T.T. in her own right. If they did not,

this would of course be well worth doing since it

would solve the Hong Kong worries discussed at (d)

above, probably without Hong Kong having to resort

to the measures indiented at (c) above,

I an sending copies of this letter to

Denis Gildea in your Department, John Cambridge in

European Economic Integration Department at the

Foreign Office and Gerald Clark in Economic

Relations Department at the Foreign Office; I

should be grateful if the last named would consult

the Foreign Office Legal Advisers on the lines

suggested in paragraph 3 above. I should also be

grateful for any comments which you and the other

recipients of this letter may have to reach me by

15 August. We will then be able to take them fully

into account in preparing a general brief for the

second round of consultations with Hong Kong.