TNAG-0299-FCO40-335-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalized-tariffs-preferences--1971 — Page 197

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5 The Japanese might also recall that when OECD Ministers met last May they called for comparability of efforts by all the donor countries; the UK pointed out that this involved the settlement of the question of beneficiaries. The exclusion by Japan of a developing territory that is one of the largest exporters of manufactures would call into question the principle of comparability that was stressed by the OECD Ministers. It may also be noted that the restrictive nature of Japan's scheme which involves small quota ceilings on all goods, tariff reductions instead of duty free entry on a substantial list of sensitive goods and certain complete exceptions does not compare well with the offers of the other major donor countries.

In HMG's view it is therefore all the more desirable that the list of beneficiaries of Japan's scheme should be as wide as possible and as generous as the size of the Japanese market would justify, and indeed the importance of Hong Kong as an export market for Japanese goods.

Yours ever, Owen Kemmis.

0 H Kemmis

CONFIDENTIAL