CONFIDENTIAL
(THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT)
PCO (69)10
'18 JUN 1969
CABINET
OFFICIAL COMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL POLICY
COPY NO. 105
POLICY ON IMPORTS OF COTTON TEXTILES AFTER 1970
Memorandum by the Board of Trade
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Introduction
In June 1966 the Textile Council which covers the cotton, silk and man- made fibre industries was asked by the Board of Trade to carry out a study on ways and means of increasing the productivity and efficiency of the cotton textile industry. The Council's Report was published on March 31st.
The Textile Council's proposals on imports
2.
The Textile Council made a number of recommendations for action by both Government and industry. These are set out at Annex 1. This Memorandum is concerned only with the recommendations on future policy regarding imports which are:
(i)
that the present system of import quotas should be abolished for all countries, with the exception of the Communist bloc, and that a tariff should be imposed on imports from the Commonwealth from 1st January, 1972, at the m.f.n. rate or, if this would assist negotiation, at 85% of the m.f.n. rate. (The Council have also said that they would be prepared to see the date advanced by a year if this would help.) Imports from EFTA and the Irish Republic would continue to be admitted duty-free;
(ii) that the Government should make effective use of the strengthened
legislation to stop the market being disrupted by dumped and subsidised imports; and
(iii) that the United Kingdom should retain the freedom to have equal
recourse with other major importing countries to combat market disruption or in other special circumstances.
The industrial background
3.
The Lancashire textile industry covers:-
(i) The spinning, weaving and finishing of cotton;
man-made fibres; and of mixtures of these two;
of short-staple
(ii) the weaving and finishing of man-made continuous filament yarn.
The spinning and weaving of cotton has been in almost continuous decline for fifty years, first because of the loss of export markets and, later, because of the growth of competition from duty-free imports from the Commonwealth and, more recently, from woven man-made fibres and from knitted etc. products, whose
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CONFIDENTIAL