Problem Of Association With Common Market

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29734, 30 January 1962, Page 15

Problem Of Association With Common Market

CN.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, January 29. The association of certain Commonwealth countries with the Common Market was the question that was attracting most speculation in London prior to tomorrow’s meeting of top officials from Britain and the Six, the “Financial Times” said.

The officials had already analysed the varying interests of the Commonwealth. They had already excluded Canada, Australia and New Zealand as possible candidates for association, the newspaper said.

The remainder was seen to be in four broad categories, according to their trade problems:— (1) Countries whose trade would be harmed if the United Kingdom applied tire common external tariff of the Six. These included mainly India. Pakistan, Hong Kong and Ceylon.

(2) Countries facing competition from the present associated territories of the Six. These included most of the African Commonwealth, the bulk of the West Indies, and a few Pacific islands, notably the sugar producers like Fiji.

(3) A miscellaneous group having other more specialised problems including Aden, Gibraltar, Singapore, Cyprus, Malta, Trinidad and British Borneo. (4) A group of countries for whom Britain’s entry to the Common Market would present no trading difficulties, notably Ber-

muda, the Bahamas. Bechuanaland, Swaziland and a host of island colonies. Malaya, although not yet placed in any specific category, was expected to be included in this one.

Whether the countries of the fourth category were finally to be associated with the Common Market or assisted in some other way, they were unlikely seriously to complicate the negotiations. For those in the third group, experts from the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community Commission were currently extending their studies to try and place them in groups one or two. Thus the classification might already be producing a convenient two-fold breakdown of Commonwealth countries into those facing strictly trading difficulties and those having associationtype problems. The Six, and France particularly, looking by preference for solutions for the Commonwealth other than

through association, were likely to press on Tuesday for further study of the countries falling within the first category. The Six had already suggested a two-pronged study of these countries, the “Financial Times" said.