TNAG-0384-FCO40-430-Trade-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-the-EEC-1973 — Page 30

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

for Hong Kong, we would be under great

pressure from certain Commonwealth countrie

and from anti-marketeers in this country.

He wondered whether we should do anything

in the three weeks left to us to make a

case on "technical adaptation". We had

absolutely no obligation to do anything

about

won the question of the annual review

until next year. He pointed out that

there were many other important cases

building up on which we would have to

approach the Community. Mr. Stuart thought

there were two answers to critics of an

approach on Hong Kong's behalf:

we could

angue

special pleading

that Hong Kong's position vis-vis her

competitors had got worse; and

2) we could answer domestic critics

by saying that we had made a specific

undertaking to Hong Kong at the time

of the negotiations for membership.

Mr. Royle said that he was not sure that

the domestic criticism of an approach on

behaif

Hong Kong's past would be very damaging.

C

We should at least use the argument that

Hong Kong was a Dependent Territory for

whose external relations we were responsibl

/which

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