(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500м 2/69 Hw.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret Sceret:
Confidential.
Restricted
Unclassified:
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DRAFT
To:-
The Chancellor of the
Exchequer
Type 1 +
From
79
Secretary of State
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
co
Minister for
Trade
IMPORT OF COTTON TEXTILES
TARIFFS ON 1 JANUARY 1972
TRANSITION FROM QUOTAS TO
While I fully understand the very real difficul
to which you referred in your reply of 20 April to
Michael Noble's letter of 5 April, I must express my
serious concern over the implications of not giving
temporary relief to developing countries in the
Commonwealth Preference Area, as he proposed.
As you know, India, Pakistan and Hong Kong have always objected strongly to the decision to impose
duties on Commonwealth cotton textiles, and have claimed
that we have failed to take proper account of the impact
of that decision on their trade. I do not think that
it would be possible to secure time for a special Bill,
so that your decision will mean making them face an eve.
worse situation at the time of the changeover than they
had expected. This will obviously sharpen their
objections considerably.
The timing is especially difficult.
We are about
to have talks with the Indians, to try to obtain the
necessary waiver of the Trade Agreement; and we are in
the middle of difficult negotiations with the Hong Kongg
Government on the size of their defence contribution
for the next five years. In these latter talks, with
the agreement of the Treasury and the Ministry of
GOTRIDENTA