11. WHY IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED NECESSARY, DESIRABLE, OR EVEN USEFUL TO OPERATE SUCH A SCHEME FOR ALL PRODUCTS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY POSE ANY SORT OF THREAT TO DOMESTIC MANUFAC- TU
S (OR EVEN ONE SUSPECTS OF WHETHER THERE ARE DOMESTIC MANUFAC- TUNERS) IS SOMETHING THAT THEY WILL NEVER EXPLAIN: IT IS A COMMUNITY DECISION: NO ONE ELSE HAS BEEN CONSULTED NOR HAVE ANYONE ELSE'S INTERESTS BEEN CONSIDERED.
12. AND LIKE SO MANY OTHEP MATTERS IN THE COMMUNITY, ONCE IT HAS BEEN HAMMERED OUT WITHIN THE COMMUNITY, THEY WILL STICK TO IT RIGIDLY NOT BECAUSE OF ITS INTRINSIC MERITS BUT BECAUSE IT WOULD CAUSE SUCH INTERNAL TROUBLE TO TRY AND CHANGE IT.
13.
ON TOP OF ALL THIS ONE HAS THE DIFFICULTY ALREADY MENTIONED THAT THE COMMUNITY 'EXPERTS' ALL TOO OFTEN DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. THEY ARE ASKING US TO ACCEPT THINGS THE MEANING AND IMPLICATIONS OF WHICH THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO UNDERSTAND
THEMSELVES.
12:.
BUT ALL THIS IS JUST A LEAD IN TO THE MAIN AREA OF DISAGREEMENT - THE NUMBERS. AT AN EARLY STAGE TRAN GAVE COMMUNITY- WIDE FIGURES FOR CATEGORIES 1 - 6. THEY WERE AS YOU KNO. 1976 IMPORTS LESS VARYING PERCENTAGES. HE REFUSED TO GIVE ANY EXPLANATION LET ALONE JUSTIFICATION FOR THESE FIGURES EXCEPT IN THE SORT OF GENERAL REMARK THAT X THOUSAND JOBS HAD BEEN LOST IN TEXTILES OVER Y YEARS. HIS COMMENT ON CUR RESPONSE THAT OUR STARTING POINT WAS 1977 QUOTAS PLUS POSITIVE GROATH LESS REASONABLE DEPARTURES WAS MERELY ABUSE OF THE MFA AND TEXCOM/#/4L•
15.
IT IS CLEAR THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY NO SOUND GROUNDS FOR THE 1976 IMPORTS BASIS SINCE, FIRSTLY, THE LEVEL OF IMPORTS (IN ISOLATION) CANNOT BE A TRUE NEASURE OF THE HEALTH OF AN INDUSTRY AND, SECONDLY, A PRIORI BUT INDISPUTABLY IT CANNOT BE THAT EVERY SECTOR OF THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY NEEDS THE SAME (IF ANY) MEASURE OF PROTECTION AND THAT 1976 IMPORTS FOR EVERY ITEM JUST HAPPEN TO PROVIDE THE RIGHT DEGREE OF PROTECTION. A FORTIORI THE VARYING CUTRACKS PROPOSED CAN'T BE SOUNDLY BASED EITHER. IT IS CUITE CLEAR THAT THE EEC SUBSCRIBED TO TEXCOM/W/LL IN SAD FAITH, THAT THEY DON'T INTEND TO JUSTIFY THEIR PROPOSALS AND WILL TAKE REFUGE IN ABUSE IF ANYONE ASKS THEM TO. IT IS PAINFUL TO ADMIT THIS CONCLUSION OF A COMMUNITY OF WHICH ONE'S OWN NATIVE LAND IS A LEADING MEMBER, BUT IT IS INESCAPABLE.
15. UNTIL YESTERDAY THE FIGURES REFERRED TO ABOVE WERE ALL WE HAD. TWO DAYS AGO TRAN VOLUNTEERED TO PROVIDE THE MS BREAKDOWN. YESTERDAY HE CAVE SOME FIGURES FOR CATEGORIES 4, 5, 6, 7 AND 8 BUT SUBJECT TO THE FOLLO. ING QUALIFICATIONS:
(A) THE NUMBERS COULD NOT BE FINALISED UNTIL ALL OTHER SUPPLIERS
HAD SEACHED AGREEMENT ON THE NUMBERS FOR THEIR AGREEMENTS.
(B) THE NUMBERS MAY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED TO AVOID FLUCTUATIONS
IN TRADE FLOWS.
1
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(C) PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS HAD NOT YET BEEN AGREED AND NUMBERS
MIGHT NEED TO BE AMENDED IN THE LIGHT OF THE RECATEGORISATION OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS.