To: CARDIHONG, Hong Kong
19th December 1963
4.
The Swedea also proposed to inform the B.O.T. of their request, in view of its participation in the June discussions.
5.
In reply, I first tried to identify the items causing concern to the Swedish Government and suggested that these could only be the following items in D.'s letter of 4th July 1968 at enclosure 4 to CAB 472:
841.462
841.751
ex
841.764
Jackets, jumpers, sweaters, cardigans and pullovera, knitted or crocheted, wholly or mainly of sheep's wool (including lambs' wool), men' a and boys' wear
Anoraks and similar jackets, not knitted or crocheted, wholly or mainly of continuous synthetic fibre, women's and girls' wear
Dress shirts, not knitted or crocheted, wholly or mainly of discontinuous synthetic fibre (excluding dress shirts wholly or mainly of artificial fibre)
although this would not account for mention of acrylics. Faltheim agreed with my interpretation but I felt he did so from lack of knowledge.
6.
I then asked what grounds the Swedes had for requesting further restraints. Faltheis said that the concern over sweaters arose from a sharp rise in the numbers of sweaters with up to 49% cotton which had been arriving in Sweden. The anorak request was, as foreshadowed in D.D.0. a. 's conversations with Baron de Goer based on the latters' failure to appreciate that meas and womene anoraks were virtually interchangeable.
for the shirt request.
7.
Faltheim could give no reason
With regard to the form of the request I said it should probably be made through a note to you from the Swedish Consul General in Hong Kong, with a parallel approach / made to the Hong Kong Department of the r.c.6. Faltheim said he would speak to Baron de Geer and arrange for such arrangements to be adopted and he told me later in the day that he had done this and that the Consul General was being instructed by cable to approach you.
8.
As far as the place and timing of the consultations were concerned, I told Faltheim that I thought early January was unlikely to prove acceptable to you in view of the Christmas and New Year holidays but I could not prejudge the issue. I said I understood that D.D.C.R. was on his way back to Hong Kong. I thought Hong Kong might prefer the talks in Hong Kong or Stockholm and I believed the choice (rested with the Hong Kong Government because the Swedes were
once again demandeurs. Faltheim thought it was probably more correct in protocol for the Hong Kong delegation to go to Stockholm as the awodes had gone to Hong Kong in July.
MY
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