and textile industry.
CONFIDENTIAL
-3-
I said that Hong Kong was prepared,
I
and indeed anxious, to act in a reasonable and responsible
fashion, but was faced with certain fairly obvious problems
on how best to set about things in the given situation.
expressed the hope that Ambassador Kennedy would discuss
these problems fully and frankly while in Hong Kong. Mr Semuels
said that he was sure Ambassador Kennedy would welcome the
opportunity to do just this. Mr Samuels hoped that Mr Kennedy
had been able to have serious talks with the Japanese, particularly
about the Japanese-American difference of view over restraint
by categories of textiles or by a global total. He had not
yet seen reports of Mr Kennedy's talks in Tokyo (I commented that
our Embassy did not seem to have had much success, so far,
in finding out how things had gone).
7.
I commented that it would be difficult for the
Hong Kong Government to convince their textile industry of
the need for measures of self-restraint going on beyond
what the Japanese had imposed upon themselves. At the same time,
we felt that Hong Kong had to consider its position carefully
vis-à-vis the American Administration and also vis-à-vis
the Japanese authorities in both cases not least in respect
of the question of beneficiary status under the General
Preferences Scheme. Mr Samuels said that he thought the
US Administration would regard it as perfectly natural and
proper for Hong Kong to do the same as the Japanese and no
more though of course it was hoped in Washington that the
Japanese would do more than they had so far agreed to. On
some/