TNAG-0299-FCO40-335-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalized-tariffs-preferences--1971 — Page 133

CONFIDENTIAL

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and of the waiver; my only regret was that the American

Government had not taken that step before the Libyan

negotiations last autumn. Mr Samuels did not demur.

He simply said that the "anti-trust boys" were very enthusiastic

and took a good deal of controlling.

11.

Mr Samuels referred to the US Government's problem

over the El Paso gas deal with Algeria.

difficult political problems vis-à-vis

They were up against

the French and the

Algerians; and, politics apart, it would be dangerous for

United States interests to give any kind of condonation to

expropriation without compensation. He did not know how all

this would turn out.

Citrus

12.

Mr Samuels referred briefly to a US/UK bilateral

problem concerned with what the Americans regarded as the

discriminatory effect of purchase tax on citrus concentrate

imported from Florida. This was a completely new problem so far

as I was concerned and we did not discuss the details of it.

(On subsequent investigation, I think Mr Samuels must have been

stimulated to refer to this subject by the British Embassy's

Aide Memoire of 1 April 1971 refusing to remove the purchase Voya

magdag

imposed in May 1962 - on frozen organge juice concentrate.

We

may need to look at this again in the light of any helpful

move the EEC are prepared to make in response to American pressure

for some helpful move by them in the citrus field.)

Steel

13.

As he was leaving, Mr Samuels said that his next call

was to be oh Lord Melchett, Chairman of BSC. He wanted to

infor/