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3.
declarations made by individual Member Governments
of the existing Community in 1957, which would place
on record Britain's continuing responsibilities for
her Dependent Territories, including Hong Kong.
(g) Preferential access on a limited scale to the U.K.
market for certain new products for a short period.
(h) A bilateral trade agreement between Hong Kong and
the enlarged Community.
In general Hong Kong's experience is that rights of access
are of greater importance to her than tariff levels. The British Delegation explained that (a) had been rejected by the
Six in the last negotiations; and they were likely to refuse
it now. They were also likely to reject (b). As regards (f),
this was a new idea which the British Delegation had not yet
considered.
As regards (g), Hong Kong's main interest seemed
to lie in continued preferential access for new products, so as
to assist the establishment of new industries.
After a short
period, when an industry had been established, preference could
presumably be withdrawn.
4. It was generally thought that any request for special
treatment for Hong Kong by the enlarged Community was likely to
encourage the Six to seek protection from Hong Kong competition
in various ways, e.g. by the adoption of a stringent market
disruption clause and/or severe origin criteria. This might not
be the case if Hong Kong were included in general arrangements.
5. It appeared that the effect of U.K. entry into the
Community on Hong Kong's rights under the G.A.T.T. should be
studied further. At present Hong Kong has no G.A.T.T.
relationship with Britain but does have such relationships
with the Six. The preliminary British view was that these
relationships would be unaffected; but a definitive opinion
would be given later and would cover the following questions.
CONFIDENTIAL
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