(ECO 6/017)
CONFIDENTIAL
$2216
в куски
Ррабижан
STOCKHOLM.
9 June, 1970.
#
(71)
727
Depl
En 246
Dear Department,
Hong Kong Exports of Garments to Sweden
You will have seen from Stockholm Telegram No. 9 NEUTRAL of 2 June that the latest round of negotiations between Hong Kong and Sweden on restraint of certain Hong Kong garments to Sweden were completed on 2 June. The details of the agreement reached are described in the telegram referred to above, and no doubt John McEnery, who represented H.M.G.'s interests at the talks will be circulating a report. However, for background information you may be interested to know that the negotiations were carried out in a relaxed and cordial atmosphere and with considerable ability by the leaders of both sides, Baron de Geer for Sweden, and Eric Ho for Hong Kong. As you know, the formal Hong Kong position was that there was no case for restraints, but we were left in no doubt that the Hong Kong delegates were not at all displeased by the bargain they were able to strike. In particular they were gratified and surprised that the Swedes removed cotton shirts from the list of garments under restraint; they believed that the Swedes had underestimated the ability of the Hong Kong industry to take full advantage of this opportunity.
2.
From the point of view of H.M.G.'s interest some damage may have been done by Swedish insistence that woven synthetic shirts should be subject to restraint even though the Swedes failed to produce convincing evidence that the domestic manufacturers of these particular products were suffering material injury. However, it was quite clear that the Swedes were not to be budged on this and, as you will have noted, the possible damage to our position is mitigated by the fact that woven synthetic night garments, in the manufacture of which the Swedes can show injury, are grouped together with the shirts.
Hong Kong Department,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
London S.W.1.
1
51
971
CONFIDENTIAL
HKCKG/63/1
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