Mr. G. S. Whitehead, Commodities Department
Reference......
29
Textiles:
Working Party
Your minute of 9 October.
I agree that we must try to limit the working party to a fact-finding exercise and have no comment to offer on the terms of reference you propose.
2. You will recall that in yesterday's discussion with Mr. Jordan he was emphatic that any concession we might make to keep the Americans in play must be within the framework of GATT. The point has been taken in the note attached to Mr. Dunnett's minute of 3 October and seems to be sufficiently emphasised in the preamble to your draft terms of reference, It is a point we must keep well in mind since it might help us to carry Hong Kong with us should the fact-finding Working Party become the likely next step.
3. The point raised in paragraph 2 of Mr. Stewart's minute of 14 October (attached) had not occurred to me before. We could well find ourselves engaged after the fact-finding exercise in addressing ourselves not to ways and means of meeting the requirements of the American position, but on a similar exercise the focal point of which might be the situation in the Norwegian, Swedish or even Canadian textile industries. In a way this might be a useful outcome, showing up present American pressure as the political manoeuvre we believe it to be.
16 October, 1969
(W. 8. Carter)
Hong Kong Department
No. Stewart