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exports of certain itens e.g. woollen outer wear by West Germany and
synthetic fibres by Canada, or the inpsotion of "anti-dumping" duties by
a number of countries, despite the fact that, because of its free
competitive market, Hong Kong cannot be guilty of "dumping". Other
countries such as Nigeria, the Sudan and Iraq, have severely out back
inports fron Hong Kong or prohibited then altogether on the grounds of
unbalance of trade. Protests in such cases have been of little use.
8. Much of the pressure for restriction on Hong Kong's exports arises
from an exaggerated fear of the threat posed by Hong Kong.
Thore is a
limit to what a community of less than four million people can produce.
Wages have risen rapidly in recent years and already Hong Kong textile
exporters are necting stiff price competition from industries in other
less developed countries in which wages are lower as well as those in
developed countries which have introduced new and more efficient methods of
producing cloth. To a large extent the expansion in Hong Kong trade in
recent years has been achieved by "trading up" (i.c. producing higher
quality goods).
Trade with Britain
9.
Imports from Britain in 1966 were £67 million and exports and re-exports
to Britain totalled £64 million. The British market, which takes
approximately 17% of Hong Kong's total domestic exports, is important to
the Colony not only because of its size but also because of the benefits
of Commonwealth preferences. Those provide Hong Kong industry with the
opportunity to try out now products in a "domestic market" which is lacking
in Hong Kong.
Future Prospects
10. Despite the restrictions on her exports, the shortage of suitable
land for industrial development and an apparent insufficiency of skilled
labour, industry in Hong Kong has continued to grow and her exports to
/maintain
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