CONFIDENTIAL
discussion is necessary, their object would be to generalise the talk by asking other countries to declare any restrictions that they have on non-cottons.
4. Wo got the impression from Nakayama. that the Japane had been under heavy pressure to indicate a few selected items on which they might be willing to exercise restrei as a token of goodwill. (No doubt Following the Sato/ Nixon talks they will be more than ever pressed to make a gesture, as recognising the American political problci and as a counterpart to tho U.S. attitudo over Okinawa) Nakayoma said that none of the American delegation had indicated that a gesture of this kind would meet the situation, but only in the corridors and privately: others, no doubt including the Commerce Departmo it, continued to insist that a comprehensive solution was required. The Japanese answer to this, aprt from the obvious point that" to concode on a fow itcas would undermine their position of principle on injury, was that such a gesturo would be completely indefensible in political terms to their domestic industry. At the scre
timo they obviously fcel that this is the main pressure point in theco bilateral talks.
5. It appeared that the discussions, so far as they covered points of detail, concentrated on the nood för ceilings on selected items - the Japanese have never discented when we referred to possibly five or six iters and for trigger nochanisms whereby, restraint on addition1 items would come under
at a given point, 80 consideration, The impression that wo gained last week that the ideo. of overall collings for man-made fibres and for wool had perhaps been dropped was confirmed; but it may be that the explanation for this is simply that the Americans have concentrated on the other aspects, perhaps, particularly while Nehmer was not thoro.
6. There seems to bo no doubt that, when stumps were drawn on Saturday, the match had not been decided and that there is still somo herd slogging to be gone throu The implication of the wording chosen for the timing of the next innings is that the mericans want to be able rosumo the match before the 0.7.0. meots on 15 December and in any caso to keep the two things separato.
COMELDENE LAL
17.
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