TNAG-2752-FCO40-3967-Organisation-for-Economic-Co-operation-and-Development-(OECD-1994 — Page 109

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10 JUL 1993

STRY

PA OELD

56

050793A4:021/7

Mr Andrew Wong

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

Deputy Representative to the GATT Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Geneva

by fax

19 41 22 733 9904

5 July 1993

Miss Bouch

United Kingdom Delegation

to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

19 rue de Franqueville

75116 Paris

Telephone: 45 24 98 28

Facsimile: 45 24 98 37

"I PA

в гр.

Dean Gudrow,

OECD/HONG KONG

1.

As foreshadowed during our telephone conversation last week, Keith MacInnes raised Hong Kong's possible application for observer status on the Trade Committee with Gerhard Abel (Director Trade) at their 1 July informal meeting.

2.

Abel recognised the strength of Hong Kong's claim to a seat at the table on technical grounds. He weighed this against the two predictable "political" questions of

seeing Hong Kong's candidature in the context of other possible aspirants, and

the China question.

He added to these a third that

-

and, what was to us at least, new line

the Trade Committee had in the past taken the view that its observers should be countries who were ultimately likely to move to full membership of the OECD as a whole.

However, his overall tone was non-committal rather than negative.

Comment

of

3. Keith MacInnes has already aired with Joseph Wong ways dealing with Abel's first two "political" points. On the third, the question of ultimately moving to full membership,

we have the following observerations:

(a)

whilst this may be Trade Committee practice it is not an OECD "rule"; indeed, if anything the contrary. For example, it is now some years since Brazil (which is still not seen as a likely candidate for OECD membership) was invited to join the Steel Committee (admittedly an

/invitation