12
Saturday, May 13, 1972
"Contrary to the U.S. contention, this justifies the conclusion
that Hong Kong did not misinterpret the understanding".
The allegation that the U.S. did not know until late in March
that Hong Kong had authorised exports in the disputed category of 22 million
square yards is "something of a distortion of the facts," the spokesman
said. By mid-February the U.S. had been explicitly informed that over
19 million square yards had been authorised. They did not, however, react
until mid-March, for reasons that cannot be established; and then in April
they asked the Hong Kong Government to suspend exports. This request was
denied because to do so would have destroyed the integrity of the Hong Kong
control system and broken faith with shippers who had learned to rely upon it.
"We felt, furthermore, that potential shipments of 22 million
square yards, while significant to Hong Kong could not pose a major threat
to a U.S. industry which had, in 1971, produced 8,000 million square yards
of the same fabric" the spokesman added.
As regards the U.S. statement that the imposition of the embargo
on May 5 should have been anticipated if discussions then being held went
on beyond that date, the Hong Kong view remains that such action while a
compromise is still being sought is not what might normally be expected.
The discussions, which have continued for the past week in Washington
D.C., have not yet been concluded.
Release Time: 3.00 p.m.