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LEVEL OF EXPORTS TO THE COMMUNITY THAN IN 1972 IE BEFORE THE MFA WAS
SIGNED GIVING THEM THEORETICALLY AN ANNUAL GROWTH RATE GUARANT AT
A MINIMUM OF 6 PER CENT. HE EMPHASISED THAT THE COMMUNITY'S COTTON
SPINNERS SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXTRA PRODUCTION THEY HAD BEEN
ACCORDED NOT ONLY IN THE RESTRAINTS NOW IMPOSED ON EXPORTS OF
COMPETING YARN BUT ALSO ON THE CUTBACKS IMPOSED ON IMPORTS OF ALL
FABRICATED COTTON PRODUCTS: THIS WOULD GIVE THEM AN IMPORTANT OUT-
LET FOR DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. THE EXCESSES OF COTTON YARN THAT THE UK
WAS BEING ASKED TO TAKE WAS A MERE 655 TONNES AND HE THOUGHT THAT
THIS OUGHT TO BE ECONOMICALLY BEARABLE AND POLITICALLY DEFENSIBLE. HE
COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT THESE SMALL EXCESSES SHOWED THAT THE COMMISS-
ION HAD ACTED WRONGLY, THE SITUATION WAS COMPARABLE IN COTTON CLOTH.
IF THE COMMISSION HAD NOW TO RE-OPEN NEGOTIATIONS IT WOULD BE IM-
FOSSIBLE TO SAY WITH WHICH EXPORTING COUNTRY THEY SHOULD BEGIN AND IF
THERE WAS EVEN THE SLIGHTEST POSSIBILITY OF OBTAINING A BETTER
RESULT IN SUCH AN EVENT. THE COMMISSION COULD NOT CONTEMPLATE A SIT-
UATION OF UNCERTAINTY FOR THE COMMUNITY'S TEXTILE INDUSTRY WHICH
WOULD CERTAINLY BE THE CASE IF THIS COUNCIL FAILED TO REACH A
DECISION. IT WAS FOR INSTANCE A MISTAKE TO THINK THAT THE WHOLE
TEXTILE TRADE COULD BE PROTECTED BY UNILATERAL MEASURES. HE THOUGHT
THAT MR DELL HAD MISUNDERSTOOD THE REFERENCE IN THE COMMISSION'S
REPORT TO STABILISATION OF COTTON CLOTH IMPORTS INTO THE UK: THIS
APPLIED ONLY TO IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG, KOREA AND TAIWAN.
14. ON PRECEDURE HE SUGGESTED THAT THE COUNCIL SHOULD REVERT TO THE
PROBLEM TOMORROW MORNING HAVING TAKEN ACCOUNT OF THE TWO DOCUMENTS
THAT WOULD IN THE MEANTIME BE CIRCULATED ON TREATMENT OF THE MEDIT-
ARRANEAN PREFERENTIALS AND ON NEWCOMERS. IN ADDITION THE COMMISS-
ION WOULD, AS PROMISED, WORK ON THE ENTRY IN THE MINUTES RELATING
TO RULES OF ORIGIN AND CLARIFY WITH THE FRENCH DELEGATION REFERENCES
TO TACTICS TO BE USED WITH THE ACP COUNTRIES. THESE SHOULD ENABLE
THE COUNCIL TO TAKE A DECISION TOMORROW MORNING.
15. DENIAU, COMMENTING ON THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFER TO PRODUCE FURTHER
DOCUMENTS OVERNIGHT, WONDERED WHETHER THE PROPOSAL THAT ANY OTHER
LARGE INCREASES IN IMPORTS FROM ACP COUNTRIES SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT
OF CONSULTATIONS ABOUT BURDEN-SHARING AMONG MEMBER STATES MIGHT ALSO
BE EXTENDED TO THE EXCESSES ATTRIBUTABLE TO INDIA PAKISTAN AND EGYPT.
FOR THE REST HE WAS BROADLY CONTENT WITH THE COMMISSIONER'S ASSURAN-
CES BUT AWAITED THE WRITTEN TEXTS WITH INTEREST. MR DELL SUGGESTED
THAT WORK COULD BE DONE OVERNIGHT BY OFFICIALS ON HOW THE EXCESSES
COULD BE HANDLED PERHAPS BY APPLYING THE USUAL BURDEN SHARING FORMULA
IN THE CASE OF COTTON CLOTH. ANY AMELIORATION IN THE QUANTITIES OF
COTTON CLOTH AND COTTON YARM THAT WE WERE BEING ASKED TO TAKE WOULD/BE
6 CONFIDENTIAL