RESTRICTED
4. NATURALLY THE COMMISSION'S RECENT PROPOSALS DO NOT TOUCH THE TEXTILE SECTOR BECAUSE OF THE NEED FOR THE COMMUNITY TO DEFINE AND NEGOTIATE ARRANGEMENTS GOVERNING IMPORTS OF TEXTILES WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE NEW MULTIFIBRES AGREEMENT. THE PRESENT POSITION IS THAT THE COMMUNITY DISCRIMINATES AGAINST HONG KONG IN COMPARISON
WITH OTHER ASIAN SUPPLIERS, SUCH AS KOREA, WHICH BENEFITS FROM PREFERENCES FOR ITS EXPORTS OF TEXTILES TO THE COMMUNITY.'
5. WE THEREFORE AWAIT WITH INTEREST THE COMMISSION'S FORTHCOMING. PROPOSALS ON THE TREATMENT OF TEXTILES UNDER THE GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES IN 1975. IN THE LIGHT OF WHAT WE HAVE SAID, AND IN RECOGNITION OF THE FACT THAT HONG KONG DEPENDS UPON EXPORTS FOR ITS SURVIVAL WE WOULD EXPECT THE COMMISSION TO PROPOSE A SUBSTANTIAL STEP TOWARDS THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HONG KONG IN THIS FIELD: AND WE WOULD EXPECT THAT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCEPT PROPOSALS IN THIS SENSE.
6. I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT ASKING FOR DISCUSSION OF THIS MATTER TODAY BUT
I DO ASK THAT WHAT I HAVE SAID SHOULD BE NOTED."'
2. THERE WAS NO DISCUSSION.
FCO PASS ADVANCE COPIES
FCO HART EID, HEAD OF HKIOD
D/INDUSTRY MISS LOWNE
!
D/TRADE
INGRAM, ROBERTS (CRE).
FCO PASS SAVING BONN COPENHAGEN DUBLIN PARIS AND ROME
PALLISER
!
ADVANCED AS REQUESTED REPEATED AS REQUESTED/
ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FILES
DISTRIBUTION
EID HKIOD
2
RESTRICTED
FRAME
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