TNAG-0300-FCO40-336-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalized-tariffs-preferences--1971 — Page 221

RECVED IN

PRIORITY

CYPHER CAT A

FM TOKYO 17020OZ

CONFIDENTIAL

REGISTRY No. 51

CONFIDENTIAL

971

HKK 6/1

TO PRIORITY FCO TELENO 463 OF 17 JUNE INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG,

AND ROUTINE TO WASHINGTON UKDEL BRUSSELS AND UKMIS GENEVA.

MY TELEGRAM NO 451: GENERALISED PREFERENCES.

190

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1.

DORWARD CHONG KONG GOVERNMENT) AND I MET REPRESENTATIVES OF

THE MINISTRIES OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND

INDUSTRY, AND AGRICULTURE ON 16 JUNE.

2. I OPENED BY SAYING THAT HONG KONG DID NOT SEEK SPECIAL TREATMENT,

BUT WAS CONCERNED THAT ITS ECONOMY SHOULD NOT BE HURT BY

DISCRIMINATORY ACTION. WE HAD BEEN PLEASED THAT MR. AICHI HAD

SAID IN LONDON THAT THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT INTENDED THAT HONG

KONG SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THEIR GENERALISED PREFERENCE SCHEME

AT A LATER DATE, ALTHOUGH SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS. WE

LOOKED FORWARD TO AN EARLY DEFINITIVE STATEMENT BY THE JAPANESE

GOVERNMENT THAT HONG KONG WOULD BE INCLUDED.

3. THE JAPANESE SIDE SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT YET GIVE A FIRM

DATE FOR HONG KONG'S INCLUSION IN THE SCHEME, BUT THE MOST

CONVENIENT DATE WOULD BE THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR, 1

APRIL 1972. NEITHER WERE THEY ABLE TO GIVE A LIST OF SENSITIVE

EXPORTS FROM HONG KONG WHICH MIGHT BE EXCLUDED. THEY SAID THAT

MOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN ASIA CINCLUDING TAIWAN), AFRICA AND

SOUTH AMERICA WOULD BE INCLUDED, EVEN THOSE APPLYING GATT

ARTICLE 35 AGAINST JAPAN. IN ADDITION TO HONG KONG, THE POSITION

OF OTHER DEPENDENT TERRITORIES WOULD BE REVIEWED LATER,

TOGETHER WITH THAI OF SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GREECE, TURKEY, ROMANIA

AND BULGARIA.

CONFIDENTIAL

14.