(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.
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Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DRAFT Brief
To:-
Bras for hood Shephead Type 1 +
Марым
From
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
Nr. Stewart-
This shoned be
cleared as soon as possible with
Ar. Whitehead in In light of his experience
Hong Kong
2075
Report of the Textile Council
The Textile Council's study of the productivity
and efficiency of the Lancashire textile industry was
published at the end of March and has caused consider-
able comment in the press in the UK and in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong there is a tendency to associate the Board
of Trade closely with the Textile Council's recommenda-
tions. But in fact although Board of Trade officials
took part in the work of the Council's Executive
Committee and other Committees concerned with studying
the industry they were there only to act as assessors.
They were not concerned with the conclusions and recom-
mendations of the report and there is thus no question
of HMG being committed in any way to accepting those
conclusions and recommendations.
2. The Textile Council recommended inter alia the
imposition of a tariff of 15% on cotton textiles from
Commonwealth sources. This is the most important
recommendation from the point of view of Hong Kong
There
and the feeling is that insufficient consideration has
been given to the many important potential consequences
of that recommendation.
3.
The meritable
Jeix/ressions of
and alarm
At this stage the answer to criticism is that it
is the Textile Council and not the Government which
This
carries responsibility for its recommendation.
The
Board of Trade will be reviewing the findings of the
1