DRAFT
100
Generalised Preferences: the U.K. Offer
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the submission
tabled by the U.K. to 0.E.C.D. on 1st March should be modified
in the light of the submissions tabled by other prospective donor
countries, in particular by the EEC, when it is agreed in 0.E.C.D.
to table more definitive lists of offers. The following discussion
relates only to industrial products classified under Chapters
25-99 of
ussels Nomenclature; the modification on our
positive
separate
somewhat
tabled
r list of processed agricultural products is a
ter which raises rather different issues but should be
pler in that all the positive lists that have been
er tariff reductions on a series of products; it will
be east to take account of the offers on the same products
tabled by the other main donors as compared with the pressures
exerted upon us both by developed countries within the Commonwealth
preference area, such as Australia and South Africa, and from
developing Commonwealth countries for withdrawal of items on
which they have preferences.
The U.K. Submission of 1st March
2. The submission that we tabled was as described in PCO(69)3;
copies have been sent to some other interested departments and
divisions within the Board of Trade. As regards the industrial
sector, we stated that the hypothesis on which we based our
initial and illustrative offers was duty free entry on all
products within Chapters 25-99 of the tariff for all countries
and territories claiming developing status. In accordance with
the report of the Special Group in 1967 we tabled a bare minimum
of exceptions to this hypothesis. These consisted only of cotton
textiles, egg albumins, and haematite and foundry pig-iron. In
addition, specific conditions of reciprocity were attached to
our offers on other textiles and on iron and steel; the offer
on non-cotton textiles stipulated that we were prepared to offer
:
/auty