CONT TUCNTIME
PRIORITY BONN TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
TELEGRAM NUMBER 1233
CONFIDENTIAL NEUTRAL/
3 OCTOBER 1969
Kafic
interna lind
ADDRESSED TO FC 0 TELNO. 1233 OF 3 OCTOBER 1969 REPEATED FOR 22
FORMATION TO UKDEL EEC UKMIS GENEVA AND WASHINGTON.
YOUR TELEGRAM NO. 637% GATT COTTON TEXTILE COMMITTEE.
A MEMBER OF MY STAFF INFORMED HERR FRIEDRICH (ASSISTANT SECRETARY) AT THE ECONOMICS MINISTRY TODAY OF THE OUTLINE OF HMG'S POLICY SET OUT IN YOUR TELEGRAM. FRIEDRICH, WHO WILL BE A MEMBER OF THE GERMAN DELEGATION TO THE GENEVA MEETING, EXPRESSED THANKS.
2.
FRIEDRICH SAID THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S OWN LINE WAS VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL WITH THAT OF HMG. HE ASKED THAT THIS SHOULD BE REGARDED AS CONFIDENTIAL, HOWEVER, AS AT THE MEETING THERE WOULD BE A JOINT EEC LINE HAMMERED OUT BY REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SIX IN GENEVA ON 7 OCTOBER. AS WE KNEW, THE FRENCH AND THE ITALIANS WERE GENERALLY LESS LIBERAL IN TRADE POLICY THAN THE GERMANS, THOUGH HE PERSONALLY HOPED THAT THE FRENCH ATTITUDE IN PARTICULAR MIGHT BE LESS RIGID AT GENEVA THAN ON PAST OCCASIONS.
3. WITH REGARD TO YOUR PARA, 1.(111), FRIEDRICH SAID THE GERMANS INTENDED TO ADHERE TO THEIR IDEA OF A FACT-FINDING GROUP AND WOULD MAKE NO OTHER PROPOSAL. HE SEEMED TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT THE FACT-FINDING GROUP WOULD BE APPOINTED BY GATT. THE ESSENTIAL POINT FOR HIM, HOWEVER, WAS THAT IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE GERMANS WOULD MAKE NO MOVE UNTIL THE GROUP - ASSUMING IT WAS SET UP - HAD COMPLETED ITS REVIEW AND COMPILED ITS REPORT.
4. FRIEDRICH INFORMED US THAT THE GERMANS WERE INDEED APPREHENSIVE OF POSSIBLE PROTECTIONIST MEASURES BY THE U.5. IF TEXTILE IMPORTS INTO THE U.S. WERE RESTRICTED, GERMANY ITSELF WOULD RISK BEING DELUGED AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MIGHT BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ITS LIBERAL TRADING POLICY. SPEAKING VERY GENERALLY, FRIEDRICH ADDED THAT IT SEEMED DESIRABLE TO TAKE A CONCILIATORY LINE WITH THE U.S. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO HELP THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION TO RESIST THE KNOWN DOMESTIC PRESSURES.
FCO PASS UKDEL EEC, UKMIS GENEVA AND WASHINGTON.
SIR ROGER JACKLING
INTERNATIONAL TRADE-DISTRIBUTION
/REPEATED AS REQUESTED/
LACT
21
REF.
COMMODITIES D.
CONFIDENTIAC
ст
HKK6/2
ICF,
REELDUN
AK
RIGHTYNE 51
-
OCT 1969
HKCG/31