CODE 18 77
Reference
Mr Bunten
HKD
EC/MACAO: COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH MACAO
1.
You asked for some background on this agreement, which could be passed to Hong Kong as forewarning of the signature of this agreement. You might like to draw on the following.
The EC is likely to sign a trade and cooperation agreement with Macao next month. The agreement wil be the latest in a series of trade and cooperation agreements which the Community has concluded with developing countries in Asia and Latin America. The provisions of these agreements vary from case to case, but they generally focus on economic and technical cooperation for the more advanced Asian and Latin American countries. The trade content is minimal: mfn status confers no effective benefits to GSP beneficiaries. The value of these agreements is in formalising the EC's trade and cooperation relationship with the co-signatory.
The Macao agreement (text to follow by bag) is less
comprehensive than many of the EC's new agreements with Asia and Latin America, but incorporates several of the main components of these instruments:
(i) mutual assurance of mfn status, notably in matters relating to customs duties and procedures;
(ii) cooperation in a number of areas, including
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industry
trade
investment
science and technology
information and culture
training
the environment
social development
drugs
tourism;
(iii) by virtue of Article 1 cooperation and the implementation of the agreement are founded on respect for human rights and democratic principles;
(iv) the agreement will last for five years in the first instance, and is tacitly renewed annually thereafter, unless one or other of the parties denounces it six months before its expiry.
The Portuguese Presidency attaches importance to this agreement, which it hopes to sign at the June Foreign Affairs Council which will also conclude a new agreement with Brazil. There is no strong UK interest at stake and we are content for it to go forward.
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