CONFIDENTI AL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
Telephone 01-
IN
RECE REGISTRI Fo. 51
J B Ingram Esq CRE1
Department of Trade
1 Victoria St
SW1
14 MAY 1974
Your reference
Our reference
HKK 6/598
Date
13 May 1974
Dear Ingram,
VISIT OF MR TRAN: GSP HONG KONG
1.
LASI
REF.
NEXT
57
REF
Miss Tait sent a copy of her minute of 7 May to Mark
Goodfellow, who is on leave.
2.
I do not think there is any need for trim to comment in detail. You are aware from Mr Jordan's recent visit that they are deeply suspicious of the supercompetitive concept. I believe this suspicion could be overcome if it was part of a package, including the admission of Hong Kong's textiles and footwear to the Community's GSP. But if we were to accept new restrictions on the GSP treatment of Hong Kong for other items, while achieving nothing for them on textiles and footwear, this would appear as yet another example of discrimination by the UK against our own Colony which we had done nothing effective to prevent.
3.
*
On textiles and footwear themselves, we are already agreed that having given a hostage to fortune in Mr Davies's statement last year, we must be seen to try very hard to get action by the Community. Lord Goronwy-Roberts, the FCO Minister responsible for Hong Kong, has already said to Hong Kong officials and to the Chairman of the Hong Kong Association, Mr Herries, that he also attaches importance to the fulfilment of our undertaking.
4.
But I doubt whether the suggestion in Miss Tait's paragraph 10 of technical arguments by us on Hong Kong's behalf is likely to get very far. Hong Kong themselves have better access to figures and to the arguments. I believe our best line is a broad ministerial approach, stressing the total unacceptability to us of discrimination against our own Colony.
Yours eve
Andrew Sha
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.
Сс
Miss K M Tait, CRE1, DoT Mr Abramson, CRE1, DoT Mr Roberts, CRE2, DoT Mr Hart, EID(E), 'FCO
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