CONFIDENT TAL
EXTRACT OF A RECORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN JR A BOTTOMLEY, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE, FCO AND MR. HIRAHARA, DIRECTOR GENERAL, GENERAL ECONOMIC AFFAIRS BUREAU IN THE MyEA.
Present:
Mr. Bottomley Mr. Wakefield Mr. Whitehead
Mr. Hirahara
·
Mr. Arafune
1
1 On generalised preferences Mr. Hirahara said that a decision had been taken among Ministries to include Hong Kong in the Japanese offer; final approval would, of course, have to be given by the Diet. The inclusion of Hong Kong would be qualified since a certain number of Hong Kong export items would be excluded from the Japanese offer. He hoped that this waB welcome news. Mr. Bottomley said that it was, but how welcome depended upon the items for which Hong Kong would be excluded and on Japan's attitude towards Hong Kong's main competitors, Taiwan and Korea. Mr. Hirahara countered that the Japanese position on Hong Kong had already moved a long way. Mr. Bottomley said that he hoped Japan would also be able to include dependent territories. Mr. Hirahara replied that at this moment he thought this would be difficult since the majority of dependent territories had few of the independent characteristics of Hong Kong. Mr. Wakefield asked when it would be convenient for Hong Kong officials to visit Japan for discussions about the items which the Japanese might think of excluding. Mr. Hirahara replied that the best time for such discussions would be in April or May, after the Generalised Preferences Law had been passed in the Diet. Mr. Wakefield also enquired whether China would be a beneficiary. Mr. Hirahara said
that in principle the Japanese Government would not include China in their offer. From a purely political point of view, however, if China asked for preferential duties, Japan might be prepared to consider the
matter. But he was not sure about this.
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