TNAG-0132-FCO40-168-Tariff-preferences-for-developing-countries-1969 — Page 131

Date: 10th December 1968.

PREFERENCES

No. 274

BE

Following from Jordan.

We discussed with Hannay (First Secretary

UKDel) and Sir James Marjoribanks (Ambassador, UKDei) the implications of the Commission's proposal to exclude Hong Kong ab initio, as reported in Goldsmith's letter of 2nd December to Jackson. UKDel had just received Goldsmith's second letter of 6th December, which we had not previously seen. Copies of both letters are enclosed.

2.

Hannay had already arranged a meeting with Stakhovitch to follow up Goldsmith's first letter, though he was not sanguine about getting a copy of the document referred to.

3.

We agreed that UKDel should be responsible for following up Goldsmith's line in paragraph 4 of his first letter and paragraph 2 of his second, and that Dodge should endeavour to get in touch with the Commission officials handling this matter to supply them with arguments to support resistance to Hong Kong's ab initio exclusion. (Goldsmith had mentioned to me that although the Commission proposal presumably for submission to the Permanent Representatives - is as reported, the internal Commission opinion was not unanimous: there are those that see the political difficulties that a breach of the "self election" principle could lead to).

4.

lines:

I think Dodge's approach should be on two main

(a) Hong Kong is still a Developing Country

(e.g. the arguments in A.G.'s draft intervention for UNCTAD II);

(b)

the appropriate way to deal with any disproportionate advantage that any particular country may obtain or to deal with an unacceptable level of importation of goods under preference is by means of the safeguard procedures rather than ab initio exclusion by country.