TNAG-1492-FCO40-2050-Future-of-Hong-Kong-General-Agreement-on-Tariffs-and-Trade-(-1986 — Page 63

་་ཀུ་བ་་་་་ས

Mr Arthur Dunkel

Director-General

GATT Geneva

Pa GATT.

UNITED KINGDOM MISSION

37-39 RUE DI VERMONT

1211 GENEVA 20

TELEPHONI 34 38 00

33 23 85

23 April 1986

#KK 122/1

RECE

1 MAY 1986

AB14.

298

291,

4

Sir,

I am instructed by Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to refer to the Declaration made by the United Kingdom on 28 June 1948 concerning the application of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to Hong Kong, and to declare that Hong Kong, being a separate customs territory, in respect of which the United Kingdom has accepted that Agreement, possesses full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in the Agreement. In accordance with the provisions of Article XXVI(5)(c) of the said Agreement and with the wishes of Hong Kong, Hong Kong will, with effect from the date of this communication, be deemed to be a Contracting Party to the Agreement.

I am also instructed to state that, having regard to the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the question of Hong Kong, signed in Beijing on 19 December 1984, the United Kingdom will restore Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997 and that the United Kingdom will continue to have international responsibility for Hong Kong until that date.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

bc R Williams Esq., DTI

Chancery, Peking

John Sankey

JA Sankey Ambassador

Government House, Hong Kong Permanent Representative

Hong Kong Dept, FCO