TNAG-0627-FCO40-775-Effect-of-GATT-Multi-Fibre-Arrangement-on-Hong-Kong-negotiat-1977 — Page 4

CONTI PENALAJ

(73

LAST PATER

Hr Mayon Munte Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Минска

M. Stewart. DIM

London SW1A 2AH

fee

Para

8

стресісму

3/8

1 July 1977

Pawn & expecially fragm

Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO

Government House

HONG KONG

Dear Maming,

THE MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT

W willen

Jeel

I have But

P/A

8

a cl

ізнік.

to du. Stem l'amistats." 630 was not uspealed 13HiC.

(Pake. 7.140

1. I am sorry to have taken some time to reply to your' very important letter of 11 June. When I got it I was inclined to think, like you, that United Kingdom and Hong Kong interests were on a collision course. However the experts warned us that things were moving very fast within the Community, and in a direction

I which might not be completely unfavourable to Hong Kong. thought it important, therefore, to continue to ensure that Hong Kong's interests were correctly understood here and not to involve Ministers in what was a rapidly changing situation.

2. As you know, I was impressed by the commentary which David ·

Since Jordan gave us on Mr Meacher's speech of 21 February. then I can assure you that the various representations from Hong Kong have not fallen on deaf ears; but the situation has changed somewhat since the speech was made. With hindsight, however, I think it was a pity that David Jordan did not send us a draft of the arguments which you and he wished to put to the United Kingdom Government, which was the thought expressed at the meeting in your office in Ma rch, since we could have done some preliminary work here and might have advised a slightly different approach. As it was, once David Jordan had written direct to Peter Carey, the most we could do was to try to ensure that other departments took proper account of the arguments developed in that

letter.

3. The most important development now is that the Community agreed its mandate for the forthcoming MFA negotiations in Geneva at the Foreign Affairs Council on 21 June; and the essential point, of course, is that the Community has decided not to see the negotiation of a forml globalization clause within a re- negotiated MFA. This means that the Community will effectively continue with the system of bilateral textile agreements which exist under the current MFA. This was the min point that you and Jordan briefed us to strive for and, although I cannot claim that it was to any important extent our efforts brought it off, nevertheless your first objective has been achieved. The Hong Kong Textiles Delegation seemed greatly relieved when we were able to reassure them on this point.

•

سر ذلك

Divi

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.