AIDE MEMOIRE
•
Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs presents his compliments to the Netherlands Ambassador and with reference to the Aide Memoire dated the 17th May, 1967, on the subject of the import into Benelux countries of certain classes of textiles from Hong Kong, has the honour to state that the Hong Kong authorities:-
''
(1) accept the request for consultations under Article 3 of the long term arrangement regarding international trade in cotton textiles of the 1st October, 1962;
(2) will enter into consultations as soon as the Aide Memoire
has been received and studied in Hong Kong;
(3) will, as usual, negotiate directly with the Benelux Governments and would welcome a Benelux negotiating
team in Hong Kong in the immediate future;
(4) question the need for the imposition of import restrictions. prior to the consultations and would point out that the situation envisaged, under paragraph 2 of Article 3, should. not arise provided that the Benelux Governments keep their. requests for consultations confidential, as the shipping time to Rotterdam is approximately 30 days by which time
the consultations should have begun;
(5) in the circumstances hope that the Benelux Governments will agree to lift the restrictions at least until the
consultations have taken place.
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE,
19th May, 1967.