TEXTILES
THE UK'S OFFER IN THE UNCTAD GENERALIS.Ð PREFERENCES EXIRCISE
In its provisional proposals tabled in Noveaber, 1969, the UK made no offer
on cotton textiles; on non-cotton textiles, it offered unlimited duty-free entry,
subject te reciprocity on the part of the other major importing countries. This
oundition was not net. The USA exoluded most textiles from its offer (and
indeed now seems likely to bring non-cotton as well as cotton textiles from the
low-cost suppliers under quantitative restriction). The LBC indicated that
duty-free access for the more sensitive non-cotton textiles would be limited by
a duty-free quota system. There was reluctance on the part of both the USA and
amongst the
the FED to include Hong Kong/beneficiaries of their offers.
Following the decision of the Economic Policy Committee on 2 September,
the revised UK submission tabled in ODD on 7 September pointed out that not
only had the conditions of its original offer on non-cotton textiles regrettably
not been met, but in the intervening period there had also been significant
developments, some of them adverse (eg the protectionist Kills Bill in the USA
and likely to affect international trade in textiles. In these circumstances,
the UK had found it necessary to except non-cotton as well as cotton textiles
generally from its offer, but was ready to reconsider this decision with a view
to increasing the opportunities of the developing countries when the general
outlook for international trade in this particular field had become clearer as
a result of any further discussions which may take place og in the GATT.
The only textiles remaining in the UK offer are carpets, woven jute fabrio,
twine, and a few other items of minor trade interest.