Mr. Moreton
K&R
59
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爸
Hong Kong's exports of cotton textiles have been restrained since 1966 under separate country quota, the arrangement governed by a document known as the "Heads of Agreement". However, in 1968 the Board of Trade became satisfied that the sheeting sector
On of the British cotton textile industry was suffering material
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injury as a result of a very substantial increase in imports of
wide sheeting and sheets. Hong Kong was therefore asked to impose
restrictions on the exports of those categories and in discussions held in Hong Kong in September 1968 agreement was reached. The negotiations at which I was present, were somewhat acrimonious and you are, I think, aware of the part played by the personality of
Mr. S. Stewart of the Industries Division of the Board who was
their representative on that occasion.
2.
Immediately the negotiations were over Hong Kong recorded
her version of the agreement reached in a Despatch. The terms
of the Despatch reflect the hard feelings of the Colonial
fre. Government but I will only ask you to look at paragraphs 20 and 21
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which deal with the subject of growth. Briefly it is Hong Kong's
view that the discussions were held within the framework of the
Heads of Agreement and that the growth factor should be governed
by them in the absence of any agreement to the contrary. At
the discussions themselves the matter of growth was not dealt with.
After they were over Mr. Stewart passed a message through me to Mr. Jordan "offering" a 3% growth rate and this is reflected in paragraph 7 of the reply which we eventually sent to the Governor's Despatch. I say eventually because it took no less
than three months to extract a draft from the Board of Trade (which means from Mr. S. Stewart) and when it came it was by no
means entirely satisfactory. However, the Saving Despatch which went was the best reply in all the circumstances we could have hoped to agree with the Board.
13.