XN000022-1976-04-07 — Page 17

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Wednesday, April 7, 1976

DC & I TO PUT QUOTA VIEWS TO TEXTILES ADVISORY BOARD

The Commerce and Industry Department will put to the

Textiles Advisory Board next month its conclusions on the many

proposals it has received on ways of improving the textile quota

system, the Director of Commerce and Industry, the Hon. David Jordan,

said in the Legislative Council today.

But Mr. Jordan warned that a good deal of further

discussion and consultation, probably with the trade associations

concerned as well, would be needed before any firm decisions could

be made.

In defending the Textiles Advisory Board against the

criticism that it was a body of people with vested interests in the

existing quota system, Mr. Jordan pointed out that the pressure

for a review of the system came initially many months ago

the Board itself.

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But the department was unable to undertake the review

until it had completed the EEC negotiations and the subsequent

implementation of that agreement which involved the calculation

and issue of something over 20,000 separate quota allocations.

Mr. Jordan emphasised two points which were made by

the Hon. Francis Tien in the Budget Debate. The first is that the

guiding principle has always been and must continue to be to

maintain a system that ensures that Hong Kong can make the maximum

use of the limited export opportunities available, in the interesta

of the community as a whole.

/The other ....