TNAG-0250-FCO40-286-Discussions-on-EEC-negotiations-between-officials-of-Hong-Ko-1970 — Page 163

that this position will change. At present, a wide range of

GATT matters remain outside the community ambit, although in

various respects this position is likely to change in the future.

For example, different national regimes of quantitative restrictions

are maintained by the individual member states. When these are

under consideration in GATT, national spokesmen reply to criticisms

of them. However, when the Common Commercial Policy is fully

enforced, and there is a common liberalisation list and a common

list of restrictions, it would seem very probable that a commission

spokesman will speak for the EEC as a bloc even though the formal

GATT responsibility remains with the member states as individual

contracting parties. The EEC spokesman at GATT meetings is usually

flanked by representatives of the member states.

6. Should Britain join EEC, the UK Delegation would form one of

the team of member states represented by an EEC spokesman. This

would pose obvious difficulties for representation of the special

circumstances of Hong Kong or for securing her GATT rights,

particularly vis-a-vis the EEC or member states.

This

7. Hong Kong is concerned that should Britain join EEC, Hong Kong

will lose her GATT rights vis-a-vis the enlarged community.

derives from the proviso in Article XXIV quoted above which is to

the effect that no GATT rights or obligations are created between a

metropolitan Customs territory and its dependencies. Hong Kong

fears that where British practices have been harmonised with those

of EEC member states, she will lose any GATT rights in respect of

these practices. There is no reassuran

sampster of occasum

That

we have arrived Whey Hory

can give hung Kong

on this matter other than to say (as we here said before that we

will do our best, when inside the community, to safeguard the

interests

4.