33. This system
which would not require the prior consent of the
Cdeveloping countries
is not strictly in conformity with the Long
Term Arrangement, in that it is a global rather than a bilateral
control but it is no more than an extension of the partial global
system we have operated for the last six years.
Conclusions
wide.
34. It was suggested at the Secretary of State's maeting on 28 October,
that any import policies proposed for 1972 should be designed to keep
us in line with EEC practices. A broad outline of the present EEC system
is set out in Annex A. Because it is a combination of Community
agreements with a handful of countries supplemented by individual
EEC countries with a variety of controls on other developing suppliers,
it would not be practicable for the UK to use these arrangements as a
precise model. Nor indeed is it clear that the list of Community
agreements will not have been extended considerably by the time of
CU
our entry into the Common Market.
35. If, as we think we must, we decide that it would be impracticable
to continue the present quota arrangements for a further year, we have
to consider whether either a monitoring system or a global ceiling on
licences would provide a step in the right direction in moving onto the
EEC's pattern in 1973. Our conclusion is that neither would involve
"counter-marching"; of the two, the Commission would almost certainly
prefer the global arrangement, which would at least ensure that the UK's
existing high import intake is not further increased in the pèriod
immediately preceding our entry (the period which would form the basis
for negotiating new restraint agreements for an enlarged Community).
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