TNAG-0463-FCO40-528-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-EEC-Generalised-Scheme-of-Prefer-1974 — Page 30

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4. IN AN UNEXPECTED REFERENCE TO HONG KONG THE FRENCH REPEATED THE POINT (FOOTNOTE ON PAGE 4 OF DOCUMENT S/831/74) THAT THEY

REGARDED HONG KONG AS A SPECIAL CASE. IN THEIR VIEW HONG KONG

SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY AND SHOULD BE GIVEN A SPECIAL LOW GROWTH RATE. THE FIGURE OF 1% WAS MENTIONED. WE

SAID WE COULD NOT AGREE TO ANY DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HONG KONG.

5.

THE COMMISSION DREW ATTENTION TO THE NEED TO SETTLE GROWTH

RATES FOR THE QUOTAS OF THE COUNTRIES WHOSE FORMER LTA AGREEMENTS

WITH THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN TEMPORARY PROLONGED TO COVER 1974,

PENDING THE NEGOTIATION OF NEW AGREEMENTS. ON SOUTH KOREA AND

EGYPT, WHICH HAVE NOT APPROACHED THE COMMUNITY, AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ON A GROWTH RATE OF 6%. THERE WAS ALSO THE SUPPORT FOR

GIVING 6% TO INDIA AND PAKISTAN BOTH OF WHOM HAVE PUT IN DEMANDS

TO THE COMMUNITY FOR HIGHER RATES OF GROWTH. THE INDIANS HAVE

ASKED FOR CONSULTATIONS AND A MEETING IS TO BE HELD WITH THEM ON 25 JULY, TO BE PRECEDED BY A COMMUNITY COORDINATION MEETING THE

SAME MORNING. WE POINTED OUT THAT WE HAD SEPARATE AGREEMENTS WITH

THESE COUNTRIES AND SAID WE WOULD BE FOLLOWING THE COMMUNITY'S LEAD

IN AUTONOMOUSLY PROLONGING OUR AGREEMENTS WITH GROWTH RATES BASED

ON PAST PRACTICE. THE INDIANS WILL ALSO BE RAISING THE DIFFERENCE

IN TREATMENT FOR TOWELS AND BEDSHEETS BETWEEN THE UK AND OTHER

MEMBER STATES.

FCO PASS ADVANCE COPIES TO:-

FCO

HART (EID), BOWN (TRED).

DOI

MISS LOWNE.

DOT

MISS ELLIOTT.

PALLISER

[ADVANCED AS REQUESTED]

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FILES DISTRIBUTION

EID

TRED

HKIOD

MR MARSHALL

SIR D MAITLAND

MR WILFORD

2 -

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ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION

FRAME

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