M. Bai
Bring
HKR 6/6/
CONTINENTIAL
The Hon, MA, Pake-han
2
Hong Kong and Fritish Entry into E.E.C.
The Secretary of State will be in Hong Kong on 17 April for three days en route to Tokyo. He will be nɛeting officials and non-officials who will be likely to ask his what our policy is for Hong Kong in the context of a possible United Kingdom entry into R.E.C. As we discussed on 24 March it would be very helpful if you could please let us have a short draft brief on this subject setting out H. 4.0.3 view..
2. Our initial view is that he should speak on the following lines: "An answer can at this stage only be cast in general terus. e shall naturally seck all proper and reasonable safeguarda to protect Hong Kong's position, although her economic interests are likely to continue to find their best protection in a continuing liberalisation of world trade in the framework of 0.A... and of any special arrements which. aMent or may affect her position. Along these solid of course he included any casures of a transitional nature which may be agreed in respect of the application of a common external tariff in the event of our entry. We must however expect that our entry will eventually alter the pattern of our trade and that it will affect the system of Co...monwealth preferences that operates at present. It is impossible to ruretell in any detall how alterations in the general pattern will affect particular sectors of trade and economic life”.
3. Mr. Brown's statement to which we referred and the possibility of a Part IV association agreement are both negative factors as far as Hong Kong is concerned. in the 1931 entry negotiations the Six rejected an association agreement for Hong Kong. They are unlikely to accept a proposal for one Low. In the circumstances it seems undesirable to refer to these two aspects of the problem in the main brief, but to deal with them only as background subjects or defensively if it is thought necessary to put then in the body of the brief.
CONFIDENTIAL
(P.R. Spendlove) 25 March, 1970
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