TNAG-0300-FCO40-336-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalized-tariffs-preferences--1971 — Page 190

PRIORITY

CYPHER/CAT A

FM BRUSSELS 311513Z

CONFIDENTIAL

[NEUTRAL]

CONFIDENTIAL

RECEIVED IN

REGISTRY No. 51

-S JUL 1971

HUG

203

TO PRIORITY GOVERNOR HONG KONG TELNO 46 OF 1 JULY INFO SAVING HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE, LONDON (FOR SELLERS), UKMIS GENEVA (FOR PEARSON) AND UKDEL TO EC.

FROM DODGE.

EEC PREFERENCES:

YOUR TELEGRAM NO. 16.

LAST

REF.

NEXT

(202 ev

REF.

THIS TELEGRAM SHOULD ENABLE YOU TO ANSWER TRADE ENQUIRIE

AND ALSO CONVINCE ENQUIRERS THAT YOU RECEIVE ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION FROM HERE, PROBABLY BEFORE ANY OTHER BENEFICIARY.

2. THE IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS HAVE NOT YET BEEN PUBLISHED FORMALLY IN THE EEC J.0., BUT THIS IS IMMINENT. (A SPECIAL NUMBER, L 142 OF 28 JUNE, IS BEING HELD BACK, DELAY IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE SIZE OF THAT ISSUE.)

3. THREE COPIES OF THE COMMISSION DRAFT PROPOSALS, ALLEGEDLY OF JUNE 1, NOW IN PRINT (PUBLISHED ON JUNE 24), WERE DESPATCHED TO YOU ON JUNE 28 BUT SCHOFFER HAS ADVISED ME THAT THOSE DRAFTS

SHOULD NOT IN FACT HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED AT ALL AT THIS LATE STAGE AND, INCREDIBLY, WERE EARLIER DRAFTS THAN COM 617, (UNDERLINE NEXT WORD) DESPITE THE DATES. ACCORDING TO SCHOFFER, THERE WERE NO FINAL CHANGES OF SUBSTANCE IN THE ACTUAL REGULATIONS, BUT ONLY IN SOME MINOR POINTS OF DETAIL, AS COMPARED WITH COM 610. HE MENTIONED CARPETS'' BUT COULD GIVE NO DETAILS. I WILL

FORWARD COPIES OF THE FINAL REGULATIONS AS SOON AS THESE ARE

AVAILABLE.

4. NO GSP ORIGIN RULES HAVE YET APPEARED IN PRINT, EVEN IN AN EARLY DRAFT. AMENDMENTS WERE STILL UNDER CONSIDERATION AS LATE AS YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. A FIRST SHORT CORRIGENDUM HAS BEEN ISSUED AND THIS HAS BEEN SENT TO YOU AIRMAIL. (THE NEW COLUMN 4 TEXT FOR POSITION 35.15 NOW READS AS FOR POSITION 25.14)

1

5. THE UK DELEGATION WERE RECENTLY SENT A FORMAL EEC (UNDERLINE NEXT TWO WORDS) NOTE VERBALE TOGETHER WITH THE DRAFT ORIGIN RULES TO BE FORWARDED TO APPROPRIATE BRITISH BENEFICIARIES. THESE MAY HAVE THEREFORE ALSO REACHED YOU ON THE FCO NETWORK. SOME PROBABLE TRANSITION ARRANGEMENTS WERE ALSO FORECAST AT THAT TIME (SEE BELOW).

CONFIDENTIAL ·

16.