3.
Tuesday, September 18, 1973
HONG KONG/US TEXTILES AGREEMENT
Hong Kong has agreed to an extension for
one year from
October 1, 1973 of the current restraint arrangements for the export to
the United States of cotton textiles.
Announcing this, a spokesman for the Commerce and Industry
Department said that the formal extension, signed today, followed a series
of discussions in Geneva and Hong Kong.
He added that these resulted in agreement that, in addition to the
five per cent annual growth rate already prescribed in the agreement,
Hong Kong would be able to ship a further two per cent over the present limits.
This comes to nearly 10 million square yards equivalent and brings
the limit for the year ending September 30, 1974 to 510 million square
yards equivalent.
The spokesman added that, in addition, agreement had been reached on
certain technical modifications to the agreement to allow more flexible
administration. These should mean that Hong Kong exporters will be able
to utilise their quotas more effectively and profitably.
Although the extension is for one year, part of the terms of the
agreement prescribe that both sides will meet to review it within ninety
days of the conclusion of a new multilateral arrangement which is currently
under negotiation in Geneva.
These negotiations are expected to produce an international set of
rules to replace those in the so-called Cotton Textiles Arrangement, due to
expire at the end of this year. It was under the terms of that Arrangement
that the present Hong Kong/US cotton textiles restraint agreement was
negotiated in 1970.
14