CONFIDENTIAL
2.
In September 1970 Ministers rejected a
move to a duty quota system for textiles,
which had the support of FCO, ODA and the then
Board of Trade but was strongly opposed by the
Ministry of Technology, on the ground that it
would cause considerable difficulties with the
UK textile industry. These difficulties are
clearly no less than they were a year ago but
we remain of the view that to allow duty
quotas on textiles as part of our GPS
arrangements, which are due to be inaugurated
on 1 January 1972, and to which we will have
to switch in any case from 1 January 1974,
would have been nevertheless the right answer
both on merits and in terms of our international
obligations. But if DTI's proposal to
mollify Lancashire with some global form of
quantitative control were to be accepted, the
case for proceeding with duty-free quotas on
a basis as comparable as possible to the EEC's
existing arrangements would become in our view
incontestable.
CONFIDENTIAL
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