TNAG-0299-FCO40-335-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalized-tariffs-preferences--1971 — Page 132

CONFIDENTIAL

-5-

Government were well aware of the importance of this matter

to some of the countries concerned

Caribbean.

G

especially in the

It was the United States Government's hope

that by 1975 the reverse preferences would cease to be

a problem.

This could happen either if the less developed

countries decided that they had more to gain from enjoying

the GPS in the United States; or if (preferably) the EEC and Britain decided when the time came to renew the Yaoundé association

agreement etc. that they would no longer insist on being given reverse preferences in return for the help they were providing to the less developed countries concerned. I

commented that I did not think that it would be at all easy for the less developed countries to act in the way he had outlined. I offered no comment on his suggestion about desirable developments in the thinking of the EEC and United Kingdom

Governments.

Oil

10.

I asked Mr Samuels whether he thought the recent

five-year agreements would last that long. He said that that

was a big question, and he did not feel able to answer it. But he thought that it was a good thing that the agreement had been reached, and that in the given situation (particularly over the continued closure of the Suez Canal) they were pretty good agreements. He thought that the solidarity between the companies had been an important factor, and that it was useful that the United States Government had been able to give the necessary waiver in respect of anti-trust legislation. I said that I entirely agreed with him on the importance of solidarity

and/