WORKING PARTY ON TEXTILE POLICY
P.A
In Lat but Pain Copy to H
NOTE OF MEETING HELD MONDAY, 8 NOVEMBER
EV
RECEIVED AT MILLBANK TOWER REGISTRY No. 51
їн
SAD
EID (1)
16 NOV 1971
Those present were:
Mr Ridley CT in the chair
Miss J Elliott
CREA
Miss M Lackey
CRE2
Miss L Lome Miss C Welch
CT1
CT1B
Mr R Grey
CREM
Mr J MoEnery
Mr K Price
CRE
Mr W Pryke
CT2 A CT2b
Mr C Sanders
CRE
CT1 a
Mr P Preston
CRE
Mr J Wells
ECS
Kr D Brearley
Tariff
Mr J Whaley
Tariff
Mr J Dodds Mr M Wood
Mr J Powmall
Mr N Billingham CT7b Miss V Walters CT1B
and one for
pr.
for 121.
FCO (Commodities) FCO (Legal Advisers)
Starting with the assumption that Ministers would be offered a choice between making a move to contain imports before or after disruption occurred, the meeting discussed the three options set out in the submission in the context of:
a) pressure from Lancashire's vocal minority
b) the desirability of keeping in line with the EEC's possible future
policy and,
c)
the UK's international reputation.
Broadly speaking there were two main patterns of containment given that there was no chance of getting a cut-back: to give market forces their head by adopting a global quota formula, or to try to protect traditional commonwealth suppliers by a continuation of the present country/global quota system. The latter was a departure from the Crosland philosophy, but we had to accept that EEC entry in 1973 meant restraints on imports and not a free market situation.
1 The Global Quota Solution (para. 32)
Opening the discussion Tariff Division outlined the administrative practicalities. A global quota would set an overall ceiling equivalent to the sum of the present country and global quotas including the major bilaterals India and HK; within this total, four main category ceilings covering yarn, grey and finished cloth and mado- ups would replace the present detailed categorisation.
2. A major disadvantage of this system was that it would tend to improve prospects for S Korea and Taiwan at the expense of traditional Commonwealth suppliers such as India. Because the Indian quota had been under-used in the past couple of years, a considerable difference of yardage would become available for the more efficicnt non-Commonwealth countries for whose trade we had no real international obligations. Bearing in mind that the 1972 pattern of trade was likely to be the starting point for alignment to the Community policy in 1973, it made better political sense to look after Commonweath interests now rather than hand the trade over to non- traditional suppliers; it was also part of the leverage in getting the Commonwealth to agree to a re-imposition of quotas.
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