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suppliers would be asked to negotiate comprehensive bilateral
agreements; one had already been asked. He would prefer not
to disclose the names of the other countries at this stage.
Requests for negotiations would be limited to "low-cost"
suppliers. It was not the U.S. Government's intention to
seek restraint on imports of woollen goods from the United Kingdom.
9.
Mr. Stewart asked whether and how the U.S. Government
could differentiate between "high" and "low" cost suppliers.
Did the U.S. Government mean it intended to take discriminatory
action against Asian suppliers and not against European
countries? He noted for example that in square yards
equivalent West Germany had in 1968 been the second principal
supplier of man made fibre textiles to the U.S. and that of
the growth in imports during the period 1966-1968, 1/3rd
had come from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong whilst
2/3rds of the growth had come from other suppliers. Mr. Nehmer
pointed out that the principal imports from West Germany were
m.m.f. yarns which were used in other sectors of the U.S.
textile industry and furthermore, in value terms West Germany
was far from being a principal supplier.
10.
Mr. Nehmer said that it might be necessary later
to seek consultations with some low cost European exporters.
The U.S. Government was concerned with equity in these
matters. With regard to the question of disruption,
he recalled that U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Stans,
/had
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