CONFIDENTIAL
U.K.Del 0.E.C.D. tęlno 69 Saving to FCO
The so-called developing nonber countries of the OECD (Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey) argued lengthy and passionately in the Committee that they should also qualify as beneficiarics: they were particularly affronted by the formulation in the first paragraph of section III in the revised Japanese submission limiting preferences to the Afro-Asians and the Latin Americans. The Japanese formula had apparently been chosen to keep out the East Europe centrally planned economics and Hong Kong, while keeping in Taiwan and South Korea. All they said in response to Spain, etc., was that they would report these ractions to Tokyo. The United States and the E. E. C., the main waverers, would not be budged from their vague formula that self-election should "in general" apply. The issue remains open but Goldsmith ensured the insertion of a firm footnote in the Trade Committee's report to the effect that the U.K. considers all donors should adopt self-election and that our submission is based upon this assumption. The four'developing nenber.countries' secured a
paragraph reiterating their view.
Froduct Coverage
and potent-
6. Argument revolved around the apparently vague iclly sweeping exceptions in the new United States submission. The Americans said they had no procise tariff definitions yet but hoped to soon. However, "textiles" should be construed as "all textiles" and "shoes" would not simply cover leather foot- wear. The E.E.C.argued rather unconvincingly, though with no really clear refutation from the Americans, that a wide defini- tion of "petroleum products" could make the submission worth little in Trade terms. Both the Americans and the Japanese said that, with regard to agricultural and fishery products, their precise lists would be much the same as in their original submissions, though the former would not now offer sugar and
butterfat nixtures.
Transmission of Individual Submissions to UNCTAD
7. This controversial issue fizzled out with every potential donor country in the Committec agreeing (the Americans now gleefully, after their earlier attempts to stop the E.E.C. and U.K. from doing it) that their individual submissions could be
/annexed
CONFIDENTIAL