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U.S. Insists On Rexlistic
Octed by
Import Talks
NEW YORK.-The Unit- ed States served notice Thursday that it won't be drawn into international meetings to discuss limiting imports of man-mades and wool cloth when such meet- ings don't appear to offer a > solution to the import prob-
lem.
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In effect, the Government indicated that an offer for
a multilateral session must
be "conceived in sincerity and dedicated to solution of the problem."
The position was outlined by Stanley Nehmer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Com- merce for Resources, to the annual meeting of the Tex- tile Distributors Association at the Weavers Club.
Sources said there was
See U. S., P. 19, Sec. 1
U.S. Însists On Realistic Import Talks
Continued from P. 2 This Sec.
no intention to imply that time was running out or that an impasse had devel- oped that might suggest ex- ploring such harder ap- proaches as import quotas by law. Congress has been holding off on this, pending outcome of textile talks be- tween the United States and Japan. Nehmer figures im- portantly in these negotiations.
Nehmer said that while the United States wants to settle the textile import problem through mulilateral or bilateral agree- ments, "We are not willing in this process.. to be drawn into the interminable morass of international meetings" without proper ground rules and scope.
"In short," Nehmer said, "We do not intend to have this prob- lem studied or talked to death." Nehmer cited statistics showing the dramatic inroads textile im- ports have made on the United States market. In 1969, he noted, imports of cotton, wool and man- 1 made fiber products will reach **3.7 billion yards, a rise of 400 million yards over 1968. Only five years ago, he added, these im- ports totaled only 1.5 billion yards.
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Over the last eight years, Nehmer said, imports of man- mades have doubled roughly every two years. In 1969, such imports will constitute half of United States total imports and exceed cotton textile imports for the first time,
He said the impact on domes- tic industry included the loss of 33,000 jobs in textiles and ap- parel since January 1969, Nehmer said the share imports enjoy of the market is at an all-time peak: "During the last eight has years, the import share doubled for wool products, more than doubled for cotton products, and more than quadrupled for man-made fiber products," he added.
The Commerce Department official, with an eye on Japan- "No ese foot-dragging, said: government can stand idly by and view these developments with impunity, President Nixon made' plans to solve this problem even before his inauguration last Jan- uary. Our efforts have been di- rected toward a more effective. job of implementing the Long- Term Cotton Textile Arrange- ment and negotiating similar agreements for wool and man- mades. We want to solve our im-- port problem Jointly with the exporting countries, and to reach a mutually satisfactory solution with thei
and we have proposed multilateral or bilateral agreements.
It was at this point that Neh- mer said bluntly that the United States would not be hung up on an "interminable morass of in- ternational meetings that are not conceived in sincerity or dedi- cated to solution of the prob- lem."
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He said the agreement ap- proach has worked for cotton textiles and "we know it can work for wool and manmades.' Under LTA, all but one of the 2 bilaterals provides for an over- all ceiling on imports of cotton products, as well as ceilings on key products.
Louis E. Kates, French Fabrics division of Guilford Mills, was elected president of TDA, suc- ceeding Arthur Wullschleger of Wullschleger & Co., who becomes board chairman.
Ira Jacobson, Cohn-Hall-Marx Co., former board chaiman, be- comes an honorary member of the board of directors.
Named vice-presidents were -Howard C. Cole, Charter Fabrics, and Arthur M. Spiro, Waumbec Mills. Reelected a vice-president
'as Joseph Brodie, Loomskill
Louis J. Brenner, Shirley Fab- 's, was renamed secretary, ile Edgar G. Minton, retired,
reelected treasurer. :
AVUS NET
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£
1
2016