TNAG-0342-FCO40-378-Effects-on-Hong-Kong-of-long-term-policy-for-textiles-in-int-1972 — Page 105

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"United Kingdom"

we have not considered the

implications of this), all Hong Kong questions thus,

being excluded from the purview of the Ten. It

would avoid the anomaly of having a known

representative of Hong Kong sitting among the

Delegations of the Ten. It would also avoid the

very real danger that if the EEC objected to a

Hong Kong repres ntative in their midst, there

would be no seat for him (in some of the smaller

rooms, this would mean exclusion from the meeting).

The arrangement might also make it less

embarrassing for Hong Kong to make points at

variance with EEC policy. Although there is no for

provision nor precedent/such an arrangement in

GATT, if the idea were acceptable to the EEC it

could be discussed later with the GATT Secretariat.

Despite the possible difficulties from GATT, only the

final option appears to us to offer a satisfactory

solution.

The Cotton Textiles Committee

9 The Cotton Textiles Committee is composed of

representatives of the countries party to the LTA

regarding International Trade in Cotton Textiles. United Kingdom acceptance of the LTA includes accept-

ance on behalf of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong

representative sits behind the same flag as the other

United Kingdom representatives.

10 The EEC itself has accepted the LTA in addition to

its Member States. Their seating arrangement is the

same/...

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