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Friday, March 29, 1974
He also welcomed the conclusion last year of the new arrangements
regarding international trade in textiles which were less restrictive.
However, Mr. Jones was concerned at proposals now being considered
in the context of the multilateral trade negotiations to strengthen the
protection provided by the safeguard provisions of the GATT.
"In our view, this could be dangerous and damaging, not only for
competitive developing country exporters, but also for the economies of
those developed countries who would invoke such safeguards and would lose
part of the benefits of the international division of labour," he said.
Referring to the most important problems facing the region, Mr.
Jones said they were food production, population growth and the adoption
of the correct
of each country.
technologies to best utilise the productive potential
"The mobilisation of savings and their charnelling into productive
capital investment is another area of prime concern,'
Turning to the main theme of the economic survey for 1973, namely
education and employment, Mr. Jones said the Hong Kong delegation generally
agreed that the educational system should as far as possible "gear itself
·
to the demands available for the services of the graduates it produces."
Copies of the full text of Mr. Jones*
speech are boxed for collection.
Note to Editors:
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