CONFIDENTIAL
- 2 -
pointed out that President Clinton had already responded positively to the offer of an honorary degree at Oxford.
GATT
Mr. Seitz said that there were three options on the fast track procedure: three months, one year, let alone two years. The Prime Minister said that we wanted less than one year or two years. Germany was going into a recession with a whole raft of elections next year. It would become increasingly difficult for Chancellor Kohl to hold the line on the agriculture agreement if the Bavarian parties started agitating. He would stress to the President the need to stick by the Blair House accords.
China/Hong Kong
The Prime Minister asked Ambassador Seitz whether the President would be open to meeting Mr. Patten when the latter visited Washington. Ambassador Seitz said that he did not know but thought that President Clinton's concern for human rights would be a good vein to tap.
International currency movements
The Prime Minister said he hoped to have a discussion on this issue with the President. There had been an under-estimate of the speed and volume of currency movements. With the exception of the dollar and the yen and, for the time being at least, the Deutschmark, currencies could be picked off at will. The Prime Minister also looked forward to discussing with the President the Japanese trade surplus which was a problem for us and an embarrassment for them.
I am copying this letter to Peter Smith (Department of Trade and Industry), William Fittall (Northern Ireland Office), Jeremy Heywood (HM Treasury) and Melanie Leech (Cabinet Office).
Jans, Stephan
J. S. WALL
Christopher Prentice, Esq., Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.