4
0003230
G.F. 323
CONFIDENTIAL
3
Kingdom market, would appear to be able, for one reason or another, to survive loss of preference and, as far as can be judged on the opinions available, reverse preferences favouring E.E.C. suppliers.
10. What remains after this perhaps optimistic adjustment to the original statistical exercise is a list of items for which the consequences of loss of Commonwealth preference and the creation of reverse preferences favouring the E.E.C. are likely to be serious. (See footnote.) Grouped as far as possible by industry, these remaining
items are
Industry
Item
Global exports Exports to Exports to
1966 U.K. 1966 (HK$ mn.) (HK$ mn.)
U.K. as a
share of
global
exports
(%)
Stainless steel
tableware
Stainless steel
cutlery
14.5
10.7
74
Rubber footwear
Footwear wholly or
mainly of rubber
(rubber boots)
11.6
7.1
62
Footwear with
textile uppers
and soles of
rubber
(sneakers)
79.5
38.4
48
Leather footwear Rubber soled
footwear with
leather uppers
9.9
6.1
61
Plastic footwear | Plastic slippers
17.2
5.9
34
Plastic footwear
other than
slippers
34
18.8
35
Electric bulbs
Electric bulbs for
fairy lighting
5
1.9
37
Plastics
Polythene bags
8.2
3.0
37
Slide fasteners
Slide fasteners
4.7
2.7
58
Imitation
Imitation
jewellery
jewellery
30.1
3.9
22
21
/Spinning
Footnote: As the original statistical exercise was concerned to isolate only items dependent on the United Kingdom market to a degree greater than 30% and those which had been considered vulnerable to loss of preference in 1962, there may, of course, be other items less dependent but for which the trade to the United Kingdom will not survive the loss of preference. But because of well developed performance in other markets, the consequences of a decline in exports to the United Kingdom will be less serious.
CONFIDENTIAL