TNAG-0465-FCO40-530-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-EEC-Generalised-Scheme-of-Prefer-1974 — Page 70

6196 D073528 200M 2/74 Cr.P.C. 839/3

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Asian countries.

CONFIDENTIAL

I recognise that some of these

products are also important to countries negotiating

for association under Protocol 22. But the Community

should agree to apply GSP concessions on these products

as soon as the trade provisions of the new Convention

of Association come into force.

Tobacco

6. The United Kingdom needs a much bigger quota for

1975 than the 22,000 tons that has been proposed. We

need a larger quota primarily for tobaccos from the

Indian sub-continent. We want a quota for ourselves

of 28,000 tons. This is the quantity of tobacco we

expect to import from the JDI countries next year.

INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

'Sensitive Products and super competitive countries.

7. We are prepared to accept the proposal to reduce

the items on the sensitive list from 53 to around 13

products but unhappy about the proposal that there should be special "butoirs for the so-called super

competitive countries. This will hit Hong Kong in

particular and will represent yet another element of

discrimination against her. There is no guarantee that

the concept will achieve the purpose of making the

scheme more accessible for the less competitive.

the short term such countries will not be able to take

advantage of the scheme and this will mean that quotas

will be under-utilised.

In

[If the general drift is in favour of agreeing the

super competitive proposals]. We can reluctantly agree

but that this will be particularly unwelcome to Hong Kong.

CONFIDENTIAL

/Hong Kong