Times
Hongkong attacks curbs by EEC textile and clothing imports
By Peter Bill Industrial Correspondent
Hongkong yesterday attacked the restrictions imposed by the European Economic Community on imports of textiles and cloth- ing from the colony which were designed to assist other develop ing countries.
Instead, the Hongkong Trade Development Council claimed, the restrictions were aiding the, developed EEC countries and those of the European Free Trade Arca countries.
The council said in a state- ment that in the four months to the end of April this year, United Kingdom textile imports were 20 per cent higher with a value of £451.4m than in the
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corresponding period of last
-year.
There was a 32 per cent in crease in shipments from other EEC countries to a total value of £233.7m, but a drop of 6.5 per cent in imports from deve loping countries.
The Hongkong' organization added that the trend in cloth ing imports into the United Kingdom over the first four months had also been in favour' of EEC suppliers, while deve loping countries' exports of clothing to
Britain had
decreased.
Restrictions on the level of shipments from Hongkong were negotiated by the EEC as part of the discussions for the re- newal of the Multi-Fibre
A
and
Arrangement of the General Agreement on Tariffs Trade, which is designed to pro- mote the more orderly growth of international trade in tiles.
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Hongkong Trade Development Council said that it had complained about discrimination. Its textile and clothing exporters had to overcome both tariff and nou- tariff quota barriers while keep. ing their own free trade doors wide open to EEC imports.
Over the first three months of this year, it added, Hongkong imported more from the EEC, and the trend was likely to con- tinue. The colony expected to show-a visible trade deficit with the Community this year.
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