SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1977
IF NEITHER THE RECURRENT REVENUE AVAILABLE NOR CAPITAL REVENUE WERE SUFFICIENT TO FINANCE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, THE ANSWER WAS TO INCUR DEBT.
BUT MR. JEAFFRESON POINTED OUT THAT THERE WERE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES OF COUNTRIES WHICH HAD BORROWED EXTENSIVELY ONLY LATER TO FIND THEMSELVES OPPRESSIVELY BURDENED BY THE INTEREST THEY HAD TO PAY AND BY THE TASK OF TRYING TO REPAY THE LOANS.
DEALING WITH DIRECT AND INDIRECT TAXATION, MR. JEAFFRESON SAID THAT THE 15 PER CENT RATE OF DIRECT TAX WAS FIXED AT THE LEVEL IT WAS THOUGHT THE ECONOMY COULD BEAR WITHOUT SUFFER ING ADVERSE EFFECTS.
BUT IT WAS A LOW RATE BY INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND WE HAD TO RELY HEAVILY ON THE OTHER TWO TAX GROUPS - INDIRECT TAXES ON PEOPLE'S ACTIVITIES AND THE MISCELLANEOUS GROUP.
HE SAID THE STANDARD RATE OF 15 PER CENT WAS NOT UNCHANGEABLE.+
MR. JEAFFRESON SAID THE RATIO OF DIRECT TO INDIRECT TAXES ESTIMATED FOR 1977/78 WAS 55: 45, COMPARED WITH A GUIDELINE OF 45: 55, AND THE RATIO OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT TAXATION TAKEN TOGETHER TO THE MISCELLANEOUS GROUP WAS 73: 27, INSTEAD OF 65 : 35.
+THUS WE DIVERGED FROM THE RATIOS, BUT WE DID SO CONSCIOUSLY, HAVING CALCULATED THAT THE CONSEQUENCES WOULD NOT BE TOO SERIOUS.
STATEMENT BY MR. DAVID JORDAN, DIRECTOR OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS, ON STATUS OF TEXTILE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EEC ******
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM MR. D.H. JORDAN (WHO IS STILL IN EUROPE) ON THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EEC ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG TEXTILE EXPORTS TO THE COMMUNITY FROM JANUARY 1, 1978. THE STATEMENT SUMS UP HIS VIEWS AS AT THE TIME OF THE SUSPENSION OF THESE NEGOTIATIONS BY THE EEC ON NOVEMBER 8.
+THE HONG KONG DELEGATION ARRIVED IN BRUSSELS ON OCTOBER 8 TO BEGIN TWO DAYS LATER, AT THE REQUEST OF THE COMMUNITY, TO NEGOTIATE A NEW TEXTILES AGREEMENT TO RUN FROM JANUARY 1, 1978.
+WE CAME READY TO NEGOTIATE, IN GOOD FAITH, UNDER THE TERMS OF THE MULTI-FIBRE ARRANGEMENT (THE MFA)= ́ AND EVEN PREPARED TO CONSIDER REASONABLE DEPARTURES FROM ITS TERMS, WHERE A CASE COULD BE MADE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH A DOCUMENT TO WHICH HONG KONG AND, LET ME EMPHASISE, THE EEC SUBSCRIBED DURING A MEETING OF THE GATT TEXTILES COMMITTEE IN THE SUMMER WHEN THE FUTURE OF THE MFA WAS UNDER CONSIDERATION.
+WHEN THE NEGOTIATIONS FINALLY STARTED, A WEEK LATE BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY HAD DIFFICULTY AGREEING A MANDATE, IT SOON BECAME APPARENT THERE WERE THREE MAIN AREAS OF DIFFICULTY.
/+FIRST,