TNAG-2760-FCO40-3977-Hong-Kong-United-States-anti-trust-notification-1993 — Page 2

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Your reference:

TIBCR L/M 33/93

Our reference:

HKB 121/10

20 December 1993

BY FAX

Mr P D W Bourton

Trade and Industry Department

HUB 121/10

छ

18 FEB 1994

Government Secretariat

Lower Albert Road

Hong Kong

Dear Mr Bourton,

LAST PAPER

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

London SW1A 2AH

Telephone: 071-

270-2653

US ANTITRUST NOTIFICATION

1.

2.

Thank you for your letter of 20 December.

You asked for a copy of the Department of Trade and Industry's standard advice to companies that have been asked to co-operate voluntarily with US antitrust investigations. Their advice would normally be as follows:

"You may be aware that the British Government is sensitive to the actions of US regulatory authorities which seek to impose US law on UK [or dependent territories] companies' operations located outside US jurisdiction. Any request for your company to provide information located in the UK [Hong Kong] on a voluntary basis should, however, pose no jurisdictional problems for us.

We have been notified of this investigation in accordance with the 1986 OECD Recommendation on the Notification of Restrictive Business Practices Investigations. The Recommendation provides for arrangements for consultation and notification of antitrust actions by one Member State of the OECD involving the interests of another Member State."

3.

In this particular case the US Department of Justice is asking for voluntary co-operation. We have no way of knowing whether VTECH will wish to refuse such co-operation. Nor is there any indication at this stage that the Department of Justice would seek to enforce disclosure in the event that the VTECH is unforthcoming.

Bourton.Dec20

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