RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No.51 300CT 1969
Mr. Hale
Mr. Milne
Commodities Dept.
312
Copied to Mr. Wiggin, AD
Mr. Ridley, Washington Mr. P. Carey
Mr. S. Stewart
MINTECH
Mr. R. Goldsmith, BOT
Mr. D.I. Dunnett, BOT
Mr. Carter, HKD
United States Textiles Policy
Mr. Percival of the US Embassy called on
Mr. Combs this morning to deliver the attached reply to the aide memoire of 1 August which Mr. Hayman handed to a member of President Nixon's party at Mildenhall on 3 August.
2. Mr. Pervical said that he was not familiar with all the details of the problem but that we would know that the American authorities having failed to secure agreement to/multilateral approach through the extension of the cotton textiles arrangement to non cotton textiles, were now pursuing bilateral approaches to certain of the main exporting countries. From his observation this approach also was likely to encounter strong opposi- tion.
3. Mr. Combs and I said that the British position on the US proposals had been made clear in earlier exchanges and remained fundamentally unchanged. Horg Kong's attitude had been indicated at the recent talks in Geneva. Mr. Percival added that Sir J. Cowperthwaite had also taken a very strong stand during his recent visit to the US.
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Mr. Percival said that we would know that if the bilateral approaches failed, there was the risk of unilateral action through Congress to impose quota restraints. He admitted the serious danger that such action might trigger off a general reaction of protectionism both in the US and elsewhere.
5. The US aide nemoire does not raise any new points and does not therefore seem to call for a reply. It is obviously intended simply as a "tidying up" exercise in response to an aide memoire (which we know did not reach the President and caused
considerable irritation amongst US officials).
CONFIDENTIAL
(G.S. Whitehead) 29 October 1969