0003230
G.F. 323
CONFIDENTIAL
· 6 -
On 1st January, 1958 when the Treaty of Rome came into force, the only discriminatory quotas imposed by the Member States against imports From Hong Kong were
by France on torches and light bulbs;
by West Germany on rubber footwear and footwear with textile uppers and rubber soles.
Thus if discriminatory quotas against Hong Kong can be treated in isolation, the Member States must make substantial reductions in their present restrictions lists if the general incidence of such restrictions against Hong Kong are not to be higher than those in force prior to the formation of the Common Market. In 1957, however, the Member States did maintain some quantitative restrictions applicable to all imports for balance of payments reasons. The Department has no reliable details of these restrictions; but the incidence of discriminatory and non- discriminatory restrictions on Hong Kong at the end of 1957 is likely to have been higher than the incidence of similar restrictions today.
14.
But Article XXIV (5) is open to differences of interpretation. On 29th November, 1957 the G.A.T.T. Council adopted a report by a Working Group on customs unions and free trade areas. The report (see footnote) contained much contentious material and the Council failed to agree with it to the extent of adopting a resolution. Nevertheless it is well worthy of study as a source of arguments against possible Community initiatives detrimental to Hong Kong's interests. It deals at some length with quantitative restrictions, but limits its considera- tion to those imposed for balance of payments reasons. The majority of the Working Group thought that
In
(a) Member States of the E.E.C. should not impose quota
restrictions for balance of payments reasons when the balance of payments difficultics were not, in fact, their own. other words if Italy, for example, had restrictions in force for balance of payments reasons, a common policy could not justify the extension of such restrictions to the other five unless they, too, had identical balance of payments problems;
(b) the words "regulations of commerce" used in Article XXIV (5)
(quoted in paragraph 13 above) did not embrace quota restrictions, and could not be read as implying that Member States could extend their quantitative restrictions to the Community as a whole.
They also
These arguments clearly have relevance to quantitative restrictions applied for reasons of protection can French import restrictions on, say, torches be extended to the other five which do not find torches sensitive? Or should this restriction be extended under a common commercial policy only when there is a common sensitivity? show that Hong Kong's best policy is probably to do nothing to accelerate negotiations on a common commercial policy, but rather to leave the Community with the embarrassing prospect of initiating a policy which might render their protestations of liberality absurd and which would probably be open to challenge in the G.A.T.T. Liberal
/policies
Footnote: The full text of the report is in B.I.S.D. 6th Supplement
pages 70 - 112.
CONFIDENTIAL
متعة
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.