TNAG-0238-FCO40-274-Trade-relations-between-EEC-and-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 121

CONFIDENTIAL

-2-

2. IN REPLY, I SAID THAT I WAS GLAD THAT THE COMMUNITY HAD

BEEN ABLE TO REACT TO OUR PROPOSAL REGARDING OUR DEPENDENT

TERRITORIES AND THAT THEY HAD EXPRESSED A WILLINGNESS IN

PRINCIPLE TO ASSOCIATE OUR DEPENDENT TERRITORIES ON THE SAME

BASIS AS THE COMMUNITY HAD ASSOCIATED THEIR COMPARABLE

MTERRITORIES. WE TOOK NOTE OF THEIR RESERVATIONS,

I HOPED THAT, IN THE LIGHT OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAD SAID, WE COULD AGREE TO RECOMMEND TO MINISTERS THAT, ON 27 OCTOBER, THEY SHOULD AGREE PROVISIONALLY THAT THESE TERRITORIES SHOULD

BE ASSOCIATED UNDER PART IV OF THE ROME TREATY.

3. I THEN MADE TWO GENERAL POINTS:

(1) ANY SUCH DECISION WOULD STILL LEAVE THE NEED TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE INTERESTS OF THOSE OF OUR DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

IN 50 FAR AS THEY WERE COVERED BY THE COMMONWEATH SUGAR AGREEMENT SOME OF THE TERRITORIES WERE SUGAR PRODUCERS AND

PART IV ASSOCIATION WOULD NOT HELP THEM ON THIS POINT. WE ASSUMED THAT THIS MATTER WOULD BE COVERED SEPARATELY AND

THAT IT WOULD BE THE COMMUNITY'S WISH THAT IT SHOULD BE DEALT

WITH WHEN WE COME TO CONSIDER THE INTERESTS OF DEVELOPING

COMMONWEALTH SUGAR PRODUCERS AS A WHOLE.

(11) THERE WAS ALSO THE CONSIDERATION OF THE DATE ON WHICH

ASSOCIATION UNDER PART IV MIGHT TAKE EFFECT. WHATEVER MIGHT

BC AGREED NOW, SOME TIME WAS BOUND TO ELAPSE BEFORE THE

TAKING EFFECT OF ASSOCIATION. THERE COULD DE CHANGES AND WE

UNDERTOOK TO TELINTHE COMMUNITY PROMPTLY IF THE CONSTITITIONAL

CIRCUMSTANCES OR VIEWS OF ANY OF THE TERRITORIES IN QUESTION

MERE TO DEVELOP IN A MANNER WHICH WOULD MAKE A REVIEW OF

OUR DECISION IN RESPECT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL TERRITORY ADVISABLE. 4. I REFERRED TO THREE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

(1) HOMC KONG, I SAID THAT I WAS SORRY TO HEAR WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAD SAID ABOUT HONG KONG EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD NOT

EXPLICITLY EXCLUDED HONG KONG AS A CANDIDATE FOR ASSOCIATION,

WE WERE BOUND TO MAINTAIN THAT, AS A DEPENDENCY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, HONG KONG SHOULD BE TREATED NO LESS FAVOURABLY

THAN WERE THE DEPENDENCIES OF THE PRESENT MEMBER STATES

OF THE COMMUNITY, IN THE LIGHT OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAD SAID

IT WAS ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE. SHOULD HAVE AN EARLY

DISCUSSION WITH THEN ADOUT THE FUTURE RELATIONSHIP OF HONG

KONG WITH AN E-LARGED COMMUNITY,

***.WE HOPED CONFIDENTIAL