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Daily Commodity Quotations
Hong Kong Monday 12 November 1973
COMMERCIAL
Against Hong Kong In E.E.C. Britain To Fight Discrimination.
Discrimination
against Hong Kong's textile and footwear exports in the European Economic Com- munity's generalised scheme of pre- ferences is "no longer acceptable," Mr. Anthony Royle, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Fore- ign and Commonwealth Affairs, has told the House of Commons.
He said the British Government intends to "press resolutely" for the inclusion of Hong Kong's textiles. and foot in the scheme from 1975 onwards.
Mr. Royle was replying to a ques- tion from Mr. Peter Hordern, M.P., who asked what action was being taken to remedy exclesion of Hong Kong's textile and footwear ex- ports, in view of the United King- dom's obligation to align with the E.E.C.'s generalised system of pre- ferences on January 1 next year.
The full text of Mr. Royle reply, which was received by the Hong Kong Government today, is as fol- lows:
"At a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the E.E.C. on Novem- ber 6, my Right Honourable Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. John Davies, Bri- tish Minister for European Affairs), made a strong statement
on the position of Hong Kong.
"He said that during the enlarge- ment negotiations in 1971 the Com-
munity had agreed to admit Hong Kong to its generalised system of preferences, subject to the exclu- sion of her textile and footwear ex- ports.
"Our chief negotiator at the time had agreed to this arrangement but he had made it clear to the Com- munity that it would be the United Kingdom's continuing concern to avoid discrimination against Hong Kong.
"The arrangements agreed by our partners in 1971 may have seemed to them not ungenerous. But an important consideration now was that since 1971 the situation had changed to the detriment of Hong Kong and that the Philippines, Thailand and Yugoslavia, all of them serious competitors of Hong Kong, had become beneficiaries un- der the Community's scheme in res- pect of cotton textiles.
"We had examined this matter carefully and had concluded that in present circumstances it was no longer acceptable for discrimination to apply against Hong Kong.
"As this aspect of the scheme will remain unchanged for 1974, my Right Honourable Friend has put his colleagues on notice that in the context of next year's review we intend to press resolutely for the inclusion of Hong Kong's textiles and footwear in the scheme from 1975 onwards."
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