TNAG-0237-FCO40-273-Trade-relations-between-EEC-and-Hong-Kong-1990 — Page 152

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16.

non-disruptive;

and

(c) swing in could only be at the expense of swing out,

leaving aggregate limits unchanged.

In this, as in a number of other aspects, Ernst

demonstrated a philosophical rather than practical approach

and showed little awareness of the realities of the conduct

of business, This rather academic approach could present

difficulties in future negotiations with the Commission.

Administrative Practices

17. Despite an attempt to create the illusion of a Commission

in control, it became clear under questioning that Ernst had

in fact little hope of an Article 4 arrangement being materially

different to a photograph of existing restraint agreements and

the French non-agreement, extended to cover presently

liberalised trade in some sectors but possibly excluding yarns

and some piecegoods, with administrative control arrangements

still a matter for negotiation with individual Member States.

The only matter on which Ernst expressed a firm opinion in this

context was that there would be a uniform categorisation system

based on an EEC list of 34 categories. These, he emphasised,

were selected for basically statistical reasons and he did not

think that there would be a significant number of specific

category limits within any Article 4 agreement.

The actual

number would, however, still be a matter for the secondary

negotiations with Member States.

18. We made it clear this was an unsatisfactory situation from

our point of view. It did not appear to be in accord with

either the spirit or the letter of the CTC conclusions which had,

after all, been based on an EEC draft. We said we could see

no possibility of carrying forward the derisory French limits

into an Article 4 arrangement, especially in the absence of a

firm commitment to concede export control.

This would merely

/be a

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