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British Embassy
Counsellor (Economic)
Friedrich-Ebert Allee 77, 5300 Bonn 1
Telex 0886 887 Telephone 234061
PF Ricketts Esq
Hong Kong Department FCO
+143 087/1
HUB
Your reference
Our reference
Date
16 July 1992
23
Jew Pelin,
1
HONG KONG: EXPORT CONTROLS
Tel sent
MJ 29/7
Mr GK M
GX
Mr Furnessy
Adyre pl Test wain, a
probably
right Fellframe to Wk?
1. Last year this Embassy was instructed to ask the Germans, to delete Hong Kong from their "H" List of sensitive countries for export control purposes, which we did. The then Economic Director in the Auswaertiges Amt, Alois Jelonek, alleged or rather hinted, since he was unable to produce any evidence, that goods ostensibly exported to Hong Kong had been diverted to dubious destinations. But in the end, the Germans deleted Hong Kong from the list, and we assumed that the matter was closed. However, the Germans subsequently drew our attention to two cases where Libya had sought military equipment through Hong Kong (Bonn telno 299 of 27 March 1991).
2.
We are now being pressed by the Auswaertiges Amt for a Delivery Verification Certificate (DVC) in respect of electronics components shipped to a firm in Hong Kong, Osprey Company Ltd, in 1990. The Auswaertiges Amt first brought this case to our attention in April 1991 and we took it up with the DTI in the usual way but without result. We have received several reminders from the Germans since then, and these are now becoming more frequent and insistent. I enclose a copy of our latest letter to the DTI, dated 17 June. Since then we have received a further Foreign Ministry Note.
3. It is possible (although we have no proof) that difficulties such as this were the cause of the original German reluctance to remove Hong Kong from the H List. If this is so, we need to sort out the problem quickly. In the UK DVCs are normally issued by HM Customs and Excise. But if a DVC cannot be provided, as often happens when several months elapse between the export of the goods and the request for proof of delivery, the German authorities are prepared to
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