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FROM THE
DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
HONG KONG
BY EXPRESS AIRMAIL
Dear Peter,
7 April 1977
hot received
in NKED
When we got back frein our short ski-ing holiday in Zermat, I found your letter of 14 February waiting for me. Unfortunately its re-assuring message was soon followed on to my desk by the Hansard of the Commons debate on textiles on 21 February.
As you know, we sent a telegram (on 4 February) in which we sought assurances that HG would protect HK's interests and, where they conflict with the UK's interests, seek to com- promise; and specifically that there would be no further reduction on growth potential in textiles. I followed this up in a meeting in London with representatives of DOI, DOT, and FCO, but the reply was that we could be given no assurances,
It
So we are still worried, because, frankly, we cannot see how the assurances you gave us while you were here can be re- conciled with your apparent aims in the Textiles Committee. seems to us that subsequent application in bilateral EEC/HK negotiations of the modifications to the MFA that you seek would be bound to harm our trading interests.
We might be able to reconcile ourselves to this if we were convinced that the present situation of your textile industry was as bad as TISC would have us belicve and that this was
Since it wasn't until due to the provisions of the present MFA.
the second half of 1975 that the Community finally concluded MFA agreements with Hong Kong, India and Pakistan, and not until 1976 with South Korea and others, it seems to us that whatever increases there might have been in 1974 and 1975 UK imports could not be blamed on the IFA.
It was,
I suspect, the conclusi on of these agreements, among other things, that diverted your importers to other sources.
Sir Peter Carey, KCB, Ferranent Secretary,
Department of Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H OET, England.
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