TNAG-0116-FCO40-152-Departmental-Briefs-For-Meetings--Visits-and-Foreign-Affairs-1969 — Page 33

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2.

did not intend to reduce textile imports from Japan, but merely to

maintain an orderly textile market. The Japanese mevertheless rejected

the suggestions and gave the following main arguments:

1) that self-imposed restrictions are contrary to the spirit of GATT

2) that in view of the present flourishing state of the U.S. textile

industry such restrictions were not necessary. (The Japanese could see

no economic justification for restraints in the statistics put forward

by the Amercians).

3) that it would seriously harm the Japanese textile industry to introduce

such restrictions at a time when Japan was pushing through a policy · ·

of rationalisation in the textile industry

4) one-quarter of all Japan's exports (presumably to U.S.) were already.

subject to voluntary restraint

...

5) a recent resolution in the Japanese Diet opposing voluntary restraint.

The Americans made it clear that this strong opposition would force in Jame them to abandon their oiginal intention to press for a CATT meeting, but

refused to accept as final the Japanese rejection of export control, end

pressed for continuance of meetings at official level at which the full

U.S. case could be presented. It was agreed that such "fact-finding"

meetings should take place but the Japanese continued to stress the

fundamental unacceptability of the U.S. proposals. The only concession

they have made to the U.3. argument is that if there were any specific areas

of hardship, these should be dealt with by Article 19 action.

Recent reports ft maxBabassy througı diplomatic channels indicate

that there may now be some reduction in the pressure for action on textiles

but that the Americans might try to seeks agreement to restraint under

the L.T.A. to cover some products mxxhich outside the cotton field in

which they were experiencing particular difficulty and that they might

try to justify this action on a substitution argument. HxSx On the other

hand, U.S. and Japanese textile experts are scheduled to begin discussions

in Washington about 15th September. The U.S. appears to be presenting

these discussions as negotiations for a bilateral agreement on some

textile restraints but the Japanese Embassy in London has stated that

....