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To FCC telno 28 Saving of 29 March 1974.
Info to UKREP Brussels,
Washington, Tokyo, Paris, Bonn, Rome, Dublin, The Hague, Brussels, Copenhagen, Luxembourg, Berne.
GATT TEXTILES ARRANGEMENT. My telegram No 24 Saving of 19 March
1. The new GATT Textiles Committee held its first meeting from 26 to 28 March under the chairmanship of Long (GATT Director General) The formal sessions were preceded by a meeting of the importers plus 7 exporters7" on 25 Karch; this group met again during the afternoon and evening of 26 March in an attempt to resolve disagreement over the membership of the Textiles Surveillance Body (TSB).
2. Dispute over the make-up of the TSB dominated the series of meetings. The 113 Committee (textiles) agreed that the Community should continue to call for a balanced body comprising 4 textile importing and 4 exporting countries, and that Japan should be considered as falling in the latter category. Brebeck (Germany) had very firm instructions to insist on this balance, apparently influenced by pressure from the German textile industry which is currently experiencing severe truding conditions. France (represented by Lavenant and Colmant) was content to support the German line. The UK too were concerned to secure a balanced TSB membership, but we emphasised the need to reach agreement on outstanding issues so that the Body could enjoy a fair and early start on its important tasks.
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It rapidly became clear, however, during informal discussions that the developing countries, led by Korea, Yugoslavia, Mexico and Egypt, were determined to secure a different balance, ie 4 developed and 4 developing countries (ie placing Japan among the importers). The US had little to say, but tacitly supported the developing countries line giving rise to speculation that they expected relatively little probing by at any rate the first TSB into restraints on American textile imports.
4, A compromise between the Community's and the developing countries' positions was eventually reached after protracted informal discussions, by which the following seven parties are to be invited to nominate members of the TSB to serve for the remainder of 1974:
BEC USA Japan
Korea Pakistan Sweden Yugoslavia
The eighth seat will be occupied by Austria, Spain and Mexico in rotation the order and periodicity of rotation. to be determined lator. A number of countries found this compromise
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