TNAG-0142-FCO40-178-Long-term-policy-on-International-trade-in-textiles-1969 — Page 154

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COFT IDENTI A L

Miss Genmaily

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countries it seems tactically advantageous to do so, we should

explain in the lines set out in paragraph 29 why we do not

regard the present position or prospects as satisfactory and

suggest the establishment of a Working Party to review the

situation and to recommend the best ways of dealing with it.

One of our objectives would be to bring within GATE considera-

tion the question of "voluntary restraints on exports of

non-cotton textiles. It would be our hope that such a

Working Party would have the effect of heading off any further

protectionist tendencies in the textiles field or more

generally; and that it might succeed in bringing more order

into this area of international trade than obtains at present.

Before suggesting such a Working Party, we should work out in

greater detail what its terms of reference might be.

7. If Ministers agree with these recommendations, we would

keep closely in touch with the EEC and other major importers.

In the meantime, we should have to accept that there might be

some spread in the extent of voluntary restraints for some

non-cotton textiles by countries willing to adopt this method.

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