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particularly as the fact that this was so would become public knowledge and would even be used as the basis of propaganda, and perhaps action at the United Nations, against our interests. The United States authorities claimed that it was technically possible to identify ferro-chrome from Rhodesia: and even if this were not the case it would be sufficient to require importers to certify that their imports were not manufactured from raw material of Rhodesian origin. As regards South Africa our representatives there had
said that the reaction in that country to such action on our part would not
be sharp.
Summing up the discussion THE PRIME MINISTER said that, on balance our
interests pointed to making the proposed Order in Council and informing the
United States Government of our intention to do so. We could distinguish
this departure from our normal practice by the fact that it was rade in
pursuance of a decision of the United Nations on sanctions and was not
therefore a precedent for action in other cases. In view of the technical
problems of distinguishing between ferro-chrome of Rhodesian or other origin,
we should require importers to certify that ferro-chrome was not of Rhodesian
origin and we should accept such certificates unless there was some indication
or reason to believe that they were false.
The Committee
Commonwealth Secretary
(1) Invited the President of the Board of Trade to arrange for
an Order in Council to be made in general terms prohibiting the import into this country of materials originating in Rhodesia but processed in third countries, and to apply the Order in the first instance to ferro-chrome.
(2) Invited the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs to inform the United States Government of our intention to make this Order in Council.
(3) Invited the Chancellor of the Exchequer to arrange for the
appropriate customs procedures to be considered in the light of the Prime Minister's summing up of their discussion.
Cabinet Office, S.7.1.
5th July 1967
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