TNAG-0464-FCO40-529-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-EEC-Generalised-Scheme-of-Prefer-1974 — Page 116

ta

this discrimination.

2.

Provided you see no objection, grateful if

you will raise this matter under "Other Business"

during this week's meeting of the Committee of

Permanent Representatives (COREPER). In doing so,

you should draw on the following points:-

greatly

(a)

(b)

Successive British Governments have

drawn attention to the need to end the

discriminatory practice whereby Hong

Kong's footwear and textile exports

have been excluded from the Community's

GSP: in the Council of Ministers on

6 November 1973 the then Chancellor of

the Duchy of Lancaster said that we

intended to press most resolutely for

Hong Kong's textiles and footwear to

be included in the scheme, and in a

statement to the Council of Ministers on

4 June this year I said that we

needed substantial improvements in the

position of Hong Kong in the GSP;

Vie are pleased that the Commission have

proposed the inclusion of Hong Kong's

footwear exports and we hope that this

will soon be accepted generally by the

Community as a whole. But we are

LondĹdisappointed that the Commission do not

intend to include any of Hong Kong's

products in its proposals for textile

coverage under the GSP;

(c)

Since the GSP arrangements for Hong Kong

were agreed in 1971 the situation has

changed considerably.

The Phillipines,

/Thailand

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN in this MARGIN