Brief No 4
BACKGROUND
1 Textiles and clothing account for about half of all industrial jobs in Hong Kong and about 506f exports. The BMC is the largest market for these exports, taking about one third of them; about 25% of UK textiles and clothing imports from outside the community are from Hong Kong (ie about 40% of all our low-cost imports).
UK IMPORTS (TONNES) :
Source: British Textiles Confederation
TEXTILES AND CLOTHING
JAN-OCT
1978
JAN-OCT
1979
% INCREASE
AS. AS OF TOTAL
IMPORTS 1978 1979
AS A% OF 3RDC IMPORTS
1978
1979
WORLD
506,907 578,716
14.2%
EEC
222,850 241,920
8.6%
44.0% 41.8%
31 COUNTRY
284,057 336,796
1.18.5%
56.0% 58.2%
LOW COST
209,446 231,905
NON EBC DEVELOPED
74,611
104,890
FONG KONG
55,676
65,331
10.7% 41.365 40.1% 73.7%
40.6% 14.7% 18.1% 26.3%
17.3%
68.9%
31.1%
11.0% 11.3% 26.6%
19.43
(26.6%
of low cost)
(28.2% of low cost)
2
of
Our present quotes on these products operate as part of the EEC-Hong Kong bilateral agreement under the 17A, which is effective until the end of 1982. 1978 quota lovels involved a reduction on 1976 trade in home products; the Hong Kong Government office has produced a paper arguing that these cutbacks have largely benefited developed countries and Mediteranean associates the ESC. Hong Kong's public line is that the "reasonable departures" protocol which distinguished the second phase of the MFA from the first, and allowed growth rates to be agreed which fall below the 6% of the original MFA, should be discontinued (this would appear to be a pre-negotiating ploy for "¿FA 3").
3.
Although imports from Mediterranean suppliers did increase dramatically in 1978, the Community has now negotiated voluntary restraint agreements with almost all of them. The Hong Hongers are aware that there are considérable political pressures in the àveloped countries for increased protection, and also that the UK textiles industry faces considerable problems including a heavy loss of employment. with some ecope for growth. for the ascond phase of the in trave with the E30..
The Hong Hongers enjoy an agreed share of our inrket,
Htut for the part played by the UK in the negotiations
k, they might have suffered even sharper cutbacks