CONFIDENTIAL
restraint from which we are currently offering to
release them as part of the U.K. package deal. Our
industry reluctantly accepted that this offer should
be made provided the Japanese tariff on wool cloth imports
was adjusted. They ask for a reduction in the alternative
specific duty (which bites on the middle and lower priced
cloth of heavier weight) to allow them more opportunity
in those ranges in the Japanese market. Traditionally
they have done best in the quality ranges of woollen
and worsted cloth (to which the specific duty does not
apply) but they now envisage a contraction at this end
of the market and growth in the demand for cheaper and
heavier fabrics.
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CONFIDENTIAL