TNAG-0463-FCO40-528-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-EEC-Generalised-Scheme-of-Prefer-1974 — Page 101

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WE SUGGESTED THAT ANOTHER POINT WHICH NEEDED LOOKING AT WAS

THE BASIS FOR CALCULATING QUOTAS AND CEILINGS, THE COMMISSION

HAD PROPOSED 1971 FIGURES FOR THE BASIC AMOUNT AND 1972 FIGURES

FOR THE SUPPLEMENTARY AMOUNT: IT WAS ABSURD THAT THE COMMUNITY'S

QUOTAS FOR 1975 SHOULD BE BASED ON 1971 FIGURES, TRAN ACCEPTED

THAT A CASE COULD BE MADE OUT FOR USING A MORE RECENT BASE YEAR,

BUT HELD OUT NO HOPE THAT THIS WOULD IN FACT HEPPEN.

4. THE OTHER MAIN TOPIC OF DISCUSSION WAS HONG KONG. TRAN SAID THAT HE WAS PERSONALLY IN FAVOUR OF DOING SOMETHING IN THE TEXTILE

FIELD TO MEET HONG KONG'S AND THE UK'S WISH FOR AN END TO

DISCRIMINATION. HOWEVER HIS VIEWS HAD VERY LITTLE SUPPORT WITHIN THE

COMMISSION. HE WAS HOPEFUL THAT WHEN THE COMMISSION PRODUCED

THEIR MORE DETAILED PROPOSALS ON GSP FOR TEXTILES IN OCTOBER, IT

WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR HONG KONG TO BE INCLUDED AT LEAST FOR THE

NON-SENSITIVE PRODUCTS. HOWEVER IF HE WAS TO PERSUADE HIS, COLLEAGUES IN THE COMMISSION TO TAKE UP THIS IDEA HE WOULD NEED

SOME KIND OF POLITICAL STEER FROM THE MEMBER STATES. HE SUGGESTED THAT WE SHOULD ASK THE COREPER FOR A MANDATE TO BE GIVEN TO THE

COMMISSION TO STUDY THE PROBLEM OF HONG KONG.

5. 1 THINK THIS IS WORTH FOLLOWING UP AND I SUGGEST THAT !

+

SHOULD RAISE THIS IN THE COMMITTEE OF PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVES

NEXT WEEK, I WOULD SAY THAT WE WARMLY WELCOME THE INCLUSION

OF FOOTWEAR FOR HONG KONG. AS REGARDS TEXTILES I WOULD SAY THAT

WHEN THE COMMISSION MAKES ITS PROPOSALS AND IN PARALLEL WITH HONG KONG EXPORT LIMITATION WE WOULD EXPECT THE COMMISSION TO PROPOSE AND THE COMMUNITY TO ACCEPT A SUBSTANTIAL STEP TOWARDS THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION. THIS WOULD, IF THE TIMING WERE RIGHT, SERVE TO UNDERLINE OUR SUPPORT FOR THE APPROACHES WHICH HONG KONG REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE MAKING IN MEMBER STATES.

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