TNAG-0239-FCO40-275-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalised-tariffs-preferences--1970 — Page 15

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286

CYPHER/CAT A

IMMEDIATE CODEL BRUSSELS

TELEGRAM NO. CODEL 155

CONFIDENTIAL 231115Z

CONFIDENTIAL

TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

23 CCTOBER 1973

FRAME]

(284)

285

HONG KONG TELEGRAMS NUMBERS 738 AND 743 - HONG KONG/EEC

FOLLOWING FOR ROBINSON.

IN CASE IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO YOU IN CONSIDERING WHAT REPLY YOU SHOULD SEND TO THESE TWO TELEGRAMS, MAY WE DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO UKDEL

(ros). TELEGRAM NO. 240 PARAGRAPH 4 AND HONG KONG TELEGRAM NO. 394. IN (2)

(139) _

THOSE TELEGRAMS VE MADE IT CLEAR AND HONG KONG AGREED THAT ANY APPROACH WHICH WE THEN MADE ON THE INCLUSION OF HONG KONG IN THE GENERALISED PREFERENCE SCHEME COULD NOT BE ENTIRELY DISSOCIATED FROM THE NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT OUR APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP: AND IN THE AIDE MEMOIRE WHICH WE SUDMITTED ON 9 JULY AND HAVE NOW CIRCULATED AS A CONFERENCE DOCUMENT WE MADE THE INTERCONNECTION CLEAR IN THE BEGINNING OF THE FOURTH PARAGRAPH.

2. NOT ONLY THEREFORE ARE THESE TWO ISSUES INTERCONNECTED BUT, AS SEEN FROM THIS POST, THE MOST TELLING ARGUMENT WHY THE COMMUNITY SHOULD INCLUDE HONG KONG IN THE GENERALISED PREFERENCE SCHEME IS DIRECTLY INTERLINKED WITH THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY. THIS ARGUMENT IS THAT, IF HONG KONG WERE EXCLUDED FROM THE GENERALISED PREFERENCE SCHEME BY THE COMMUNITY, SHE WOULD ALSO BE EXCLUDED BY THE UNITED STATES AND, FOR THAT MATTER JAPAN. SINCE THE EXCLUSION WOULD MEAN THAT DEPENDENT TERRITORIES WERE TO BE TREATED AS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THEIR METROPOLITAN POWER, HONG KONG WOULD BECOME

/....A CHARGE

!

CONFIDENTIAL.

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