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17.
(c) Half of its manufacturing labour force is
dependent on the textile and clothing industries;
(a) The livelihood of 42m. people is therefore very
largely dependent on this industry;
(e)
If Hong Kong's access to the European market is
sharply reduced, it is likely that the gap between
supply and demand in Europe will be filled largely
by developed countries rather than by those
developing countries whose export performance while
unrestricted has shown that they cannot meet the
market's requirements.
In other words, the proposal to apply discriminatory
reductions to Hong Kong is an attempt by a rich community to shift prosperity from the poor to the poorest but will probably
result in making other rich countries richer.
18.
In this situation, Hong Kong's predicament with
regard to the MFA is at least as great as anyone else's.
Other Countries have a greater claim
19.
We do not know why it is considered that other
countries have a greater claim. This seems to mean that other
countries have a greater claim to the trade that Hong Kong has
built up, presumably just because Hong Kong has been successful
in building it up.
20.
This suggestion would introduce an entirely new
principle into the regulation of the international trading
system. To take it to its logical conclusion, it would mean
that whenever any country had a large share of any trade, it
should be deprived of a part of that trade for the benefit of those
who had only a small share.
21.
The general umcceptability of the principle can
perhaps be best illustrated by asking a question and giving an
example:
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