TNAG-0141-FCO40-177-Hong-Kong-concession--in-Kennedy-Round--on-unmanufactured-to-1969 — Page 23

Registry

No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Seeres.

Secret.

Confidential.

Reseted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

DRAFT

Aide Memoire

To:-

J.McKewi 2/10/69

Blue Paperi

spacing

X

double

Type 1 +6 No signature

From

Pol. Depp. 22

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

In Confidence

(Return for the

record)

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

C.D

1939

(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.

(in full )

AIDE MEMOIRE

1969

In their Aide Memoire of the 18 June 1965 the

Government of India drew attention to the change in

Hong Kong's arrangements for the import of unmanufactured

tobacco, as a result of which a preferential rate of

duty which had existed previously was eliminated except

in the case of Malawi.

2. The Government of India will be aware of the cor-

respondence on this question exchanged between the

Counsellor for Hong Kong Affairs in the UK Mission to

the GATT and the Resident Representative of India to

the GATT in December 1968. In his letter of 18

December the Counsellor set out at some length the

position of the Hong Kong Government in this matter and

in a subsequent letter of 23 January 1969 confirmed that

his Government had seen and endorsed his statement.

3.

HMG have exertheless carefully considered the

points made by the Government of India and wish to

the latter they consider that

there

express their regret if there was any lack of consulta-

tion in the closing stages of the Kenedy Round. They

ed must, however, point out that the concession offer by

Hong Kong on unmanufactured tobacco appeared in the

final schedules and was therefore accepted, as an inter- gral part of the agreement, by all the Signatories of the

Geneva (1967) Protocol, including of course the Govern-

ment of India. By signing this Protocol the Government

of India must be held to have accepted the consequential

changes in any preferential margins to which they may