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should make a start now that it is forced upon us by this issue. Whatever may come out on the constitutional question, we also need to give consideration to the granting of an entrustment in respect of relevant functions. Precedents are to be found in Annexes 5 and 6 of DSP 66.
4. On more limited matters, I have the following comments on the draft paper now contained in Hong Kong telno 838 of 2 May. Like others who have commented I do not believe that references to "de facto" or "de jure" help the argument or provide for greater understanding. The issue is not so much a factual or legal position as whether Hong Kong attains a separate membership status in the GATT; and for these reasons I would propose you delete "de facto" and "de jure" where they appear in paragraphs 4, 12, 15 and 21.
5.
Second I am not sure that I really understand the argument in paragraph 9. If the suggestion is that a party which is "deemed" a party is inferior to a party which becomes a party by accession, I would find difficulty in accepting that such an argument had consequences for the operation of the GATT so long as deeming was continued. However, if the deeming is only continuous for so long as the sponsorship of the metropolitan country continues then that would put a question mark against the Secretariat's position reported in paragraph 13 unless the Chinese are prepared, tacitly if not expressly, to pick up the sponsorship in due course. In this connection I think we should bear in mind that although the Joint Declaration recognises that the Hong Kong SAR "shall decide its economic and trade policies on its own" and provides for participation in relevant international organisations including the GATT, it does not, in terms, commit itself to "full autonomy" in those matters; we need to be prepared that, whatever may be conceded about what Hong Kong actually does or may do, the Chinese may have difficulties over the expression "full autonomy".
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Paul Fifoot
Deputy Legal Adviser
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