U.S. TEXTILE TEAM (continued)
the table will not be revealed until the Japanese delega- tion returns home and presents it to their top officials for decision.
Officials here emphasize that the meeting is not a no- gotiating session.
There have been reports out of Tokyo that the Jap- anese will sit and listen and plead no authority to nego tiate or reach a decision.
"We are not asking them for a decision," one United States official said. "But we do expect a dialogue and not a monologue."
Japanese sources indicated that the Japanese will not rejcct the United States proposal while here, whatever it turns out to be. They will listen, and return home, is the impression the Japanese source gave,
One source said the Japanese want to give Stans a chance to "save face."
But a United States official said "We hope they will tell us if they will agree to negotiate sometime in the near future.”
The textile ingort problem is being linked more and more in this country to the problem of when the United States will return Okinawa to Japan. This is a delicate, political issue in Japan and Aichi, who is in this country now, and Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, who will confer with President Nixon in November, hope to gat the Okinawan problem solved by the time of Sato's visit.
Officials indicated here that contrary to several printed, reports, they are not timing settlement of the textile prob.. lem to coincide with Sato's visit.
One high official said: "We assume the problem will be solved before Sato arrives. We assume Sato would rather come after a textile agreement had been reached, rather than bfore.”
the
The meaning of this appeared to be that Sato would in a much better position to get a settlement of the hawan problem, if the textile problem were out of
The United States is committed to returning Okinawa.. It is just a matter of timing. Some sources here posed the question: "Why not get something in return for a speedup in timing?"
U. S. officials admit that they are taking the bilateral approach because there wasn't enough support for a multi- lateral approach. The objective is still for a multilateral agreement, "but we will have to see how it develops in the future."-
U. S. officials will point out that Japanese man-made fiber textile imports are up more than 50 per cent for the first half of 1969 over the comparable 1968 period. They also will show that man-made fiber apparel imports from Japan are up nearly 90 per cent in the same period.
In addition, the United States delegates will discuss other bilateral agreements that the Japanese have with other nations to limit their exports of wool and man- made fiber textiles. The Japanese have such pacts with a number of European countries and Canada.
The U. S. will contend and try to prove that some of these agreements are responsible for additional U. S. imports of these textiles.
Although the meeting is being held at the assistant secretary level, Commerce Secretary Stans will host a luncheon for the Japanese delegation. He therefore will have a chance to discuss the problem himself. There also is a chance that Aichi, who will be in Washington today will meet with Stans soon.
Other members from the U. S. delegation include: State Department: Stanley D. Schiff, director of the Office of International Commodities; Henry flopp, chief of the fibers and textile division.
Commerce Department: Arthur Garel, director, office of textiles; Seth Bodner, special assistant to deputy assist- ant secretary for resources; Emanuel Lipscomb, director, trade analysis division, office of textiles, and Charles E. Raymond, director, market analysis division, office of textiles.
Labor Department: Irving Kramer, chief, division of International commodities, office of foreign economic policy.
Treasury Department: Robert Anderson, office of in- ternational economic activities.
Agriculture Department: Mrs. Eernice Hornbeck, cot- ton division, foreign agricultural service.
--RICHARD C. SIZEMORE
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