TNAG-0384-FCO40-430-Trade-relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-the-EEC-1973 — Page 7

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problem for us of discriminating against our own

dependency. At home we can point to the specific

promises to Hong Kong made by Mr Rippon in 1971, to

distinguish this case from other demands which were

not made at the time. We can take the game line

with the Indians and others, while pointing out

that the constitutional position of a dependent

territory is necessarily different from their own.

8. The alternatives to trying to persuade the

Community to admit Hong Kong to its GSP on footwear

[A]

and textiles] would be to propose that they should

exclude these categories from the Community's GSP

altogether; or that they should limit the damage

by lowering the Butoirs (ie limits within the duty-

free quotas which limit the benefits to any one

country) on these categories; or that they should

take the whole question of textiles out of the GSP

context and consider it in the wider context of the

Community's textiles policy. The first of these

possibilities would be contrary to the policy laid

down by the 1972 European Summit and inconsistent

with the conclusions of the GATT Ministerial

meeting in Tokyo; the second is open to the same

objection and would not meet Hong Kong's political

requirements; nor would the third, which anyway

stands very little chance of success, and would not

solve the problem of footwear.

[8]

9. I conclude that we must ask the Community to

extend its GSP on es textiles to Hong Kong.

We may not succeed in getting everything that Hong

Kong wants: it will be more difficult to argue

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

and footwear

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