}

CONFIDENTIAL

7. DENIAU (FRANCE) MADE CERTAIN POINTS, THE ANSWERS TO WHICH WOULD

DETERMINE HIS GOVERNMENT'S FINAL DECISION:

(A) THE EXCESSES THAT FRANCE WAS BEING ASKED TO TAKE FOR COTTON

YARN AND COTTON CLOTH WERE 10 PER CENT AND 6 1/2 PER CENT

RESPECTIVELY. HE WONDERED TO WHAT EXTENT THESE FIGURES COULD BE

REVISED EITHER BY RENEGOTIATING THEM WITH THE SUPPLYING COUNTRIES

OR POSSIBLY BY APPLYING A DIFFERENT BURDEN-SHARING FORMULA

WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

B) SIMILARLY FOR THE AGREEMENTS WITH THE LOME COUNTRIES, WHERE

FRANCE HAD REASON TO THINK THAT THE 1978 FIGURES NEGOTIATED BY

THE COMMISSION WOULD BE CONSISTENTLY EXCEEDED, THERE MIGHT BE

SCOPE FOR ADJUSTING DISTRIBUTION OF CHARGES AMONG MEMBER STATES

OP FOR APPLYING TIGHTER PROVISIONS AGAINST THE EXPORTERS IN

FUTURE YEARS.

(C) THE AGREEMENTS WITH THE MEDITERRANEAN PREFERENTIAL COUNTRIES WERE

STILL VAGUE AND FRANCE WOULD NEED TO SEE FURTHER GUARANTEES FROM

THE COMMISSION. THE PROBLEM WAS MOST ACUTE IN THE CASE OF

PORTUGAL AND SPAIN. THE SAFEGUARD CLAUSE IN THE AGREEMENTS WITH

THESE COUNTRIES SHOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED AND HE HOPED

THAT THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS IN THIS RESPECT COULD BE PUT

DOWN IN WRITING AND CIRCULATED QUICKLY.

8. PLAJA (ITALY) SAID THAT THE EXCESSES ON COTTON YARN AND

COTTON CLOTH FOR ITALY WOULD INCREASE AN ALREADY HIGH LEVEL OF HIGH

IMPORT PENETRATION IN THESE PRODUCTS IN ITALY BUT HIS GOVERNMENT WERE

PREPARED TO ACCEPT THIS AS A CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS A COMMUNITY

SOLUTION AS LONG AS ALL OTHER MEMBER STATES WERE PREPARED TO BEAR THEIR SHARE. HIS DELEGATION NEEDED A LITTLE MORE TIME TO EXAMINE THE COMMISSION'S LATEST PROPOSALS ON TEMPORARY PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTERING THE RULES OF ORIGIN: BUT HE MIGHT ALSO NEED A LITTLE

MORE PRECISION IN THESE ASSURANCES. HE WOULD EQUALLY LIKE TO SEE IN

WRITING THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS ON THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 115

WITH REGARD TO ACP COUNTRIES.

3

CONFIDENTIAL·

19.

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