CONFIDENTIAL
hould this be ferable?
علم
4.
(c) Those responsible for the government of
Hong Kong were the best judges of Hong Kong's interests, and should not be interfered with by Whitehall more than was absolutely essential.
(d) Even if the Colony lost its present trading
preferences in Britain, it should not suffer discrimination against its exports as a
result of exclusion from the UNCTAD scheme for generalised preferences.
On this basis officials and businessmen spoke as follows. I have attributed authorship where possible.
(a)
HMG should ask the Community for an association agreement with Hong Kong. If this were not possible or were refused, they should ask for special arrangements to ensure duty free access for Hong Kong products to the British market after British entry into the Community, and/or secure means by which Hong Kong had access to the enlarged Community on at least as good terms as the developing countries and was not subject to any other form of restriction. HMG should anyway press for Hong Kong to be included as a beneficiary in the Community's offer under the generalized preferences scheme. (The Governor, the Financial Secretary and other officials)
(b) Alternatively HMG might agree to return to
Hong Kong the duties they would have been obliged to impose on Hong Kong imports into Britain under the Common External Tariff. (The Financial Secretary)
(c)
(a)
It would be unfair to Hong Kong if, after British entry into the Community the present members of EFTA, in particular Portugal, had free access to the Community market, if Hong Kong did not so.
(The Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Council (UMELCO) and several businessmen)
British entry should not be followed by another sterling devaluation in which, as in 1967, Hong Kong would be one of the principal sufferers. Hong Kong had too high a proportion of its reserves in sterling.
(UMELCO and two businessmen)
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/(e)
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