TNAG-0627-FCO40-775-Effect-of-GATT-Multi-Fibre-Arrangement-on-Hong-Kong-negotiat-1977 — Page 7

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO

Government House

HONG KONG

Dear My

>

THE MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT

1.

London SWIA 2AH

1 July 1977

Joel

/A

73

I heilten I have out of our value.

هن

to du. Sem. l'avirkelius.

Дали

(pare? Heller)

630 was not repeated lot⋅k.

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 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.

I

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,

and the essential at the Foreign Affairs Council on 21 June; point, of course, is that the Community has decided not to seel 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 main 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, The Hong nevertheless your first objective has been achieved. Kong Textiles Delegation seemed greatly relieved when we were able to reassure them on this point.

но

(سقلك

Diui

+447

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.