CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH.
A J Lane Esq ITP 1
HKK040/24
Department of Trade and Industry
1
-
19 Victoria
LONDON
SW1
Street
Telephone 01-
17
Gür B/41 ой
meek.
233 3722
Your reference
Our reference
Date
Hkk oko/9.
15 March 1985
Iven
ہونے کا
Liv
14
HONG KONG : GATT
1.
You will have seen Dame Anne Warburton's tele letter of 11 March in reply to Tony Galsworthy's of 5 October 1984. Para 3 reinforces our view that Hong Kong's post-1997 position in the GATT can best be safeguarded by ensuring that it becomes a Contracting Party pre-1997.
2. I should be grateful for your comments on Dame Anne Warburton's letter, particularly on the proceedure which the GATT's Legal Adviser suggests for seeking Hong Kong's membership of GATT as a Contracting Party. (Paras 5,7 and 9). This proceedure seems to be very much in line with the thinking in paras 2 and 3 of our telegram 509 (1984) to Hong Kong with the addition of a separate statement from Hong Kong to the GATT. I enclose a copy of the relevant extract from the telegram.
Dame
3. It is true that there are strong disincentives to backtracking by the Chinese on any part of the Hong Kong Agreement. (Para 8 of
1 Anne Warburton S teleletter).
But, as an additional safeguard in the GATT context perhaps the type of statement envisaged on the part of the Chinese might usefully include specific reference to
to the Hong Kong SAR's retention of any Contracting Party status granted to Hong Kong.
cc:
Mr Burrows, Mr Warren,
>
Legal Advisers ECD (E)
Une
a
Shindig
J S C Priest? Mrs)
Hong Kong Department
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