INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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possible extension of the treaty to cover Hong Kong, were given careful consideration during the year.
The Colony studied with great interest the preparations for the 1964 round of tariff negotiations to be held within the framework of the GATT, and given impetus by the late President Kennedy's Trade Expansion Act. During the year attention was also paid to the results of the full revision of the United States tariff commenced in 1954, which were brought into effect in August. Although the intention had been throughout to simplify, and not to alter, the duty rates, the United States Government recognized that some alterations were unavoidable and that the trade of some countries supplying the American market could be affected. It was, therefore, agreed that contracting parties to the GATT had a right to com- pensation in such circumstances. Hong Kong's interest in certain items of a specialized nature resulted in the Colony having a case for compensation and representations were prepared for submission by the British Government to the United States during negotiations under the auspices of the GATT.
Elsewhere, new restrictions on trade again exceeded measures for its liberalization, although the latter category included a number which were of some significance. The last Canadian import sur- charges imposed during the previous year were withdrawn in April, while the Federal Parliament of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in March passed legislation restoring preference under the Federal rebate tariff to a number of items from which it had been withdrawn in 1955. A welcome move by the Australian Government was the cancellation of the primage duty of 10 per cent on textile items other than piecegoods.
By contrast Hong Kong's trade was adversely affected through, among other measures, a complete ban on all imports from the Colony imposed without warning by the Iraqi Government early in the year. Despite representations made through the British Government, the ban remained in being throughout the year and no reason was given for its imposition.
In September, the Nigerian Government substituted for the previous open general licence a system of specific import licences in respect of a number of important Hong Kong exports to that country. This action was taken without prior consultation and was discriminatory. It followed similar action against Japan, and was