TNAG-0143-FCO40-179-Exports-of-textiles-to-United-States-of-America-1969 — Page 43

ARCHIVES No.31 14 APR 1969

No.31 10 APR 1969

14KK6/204/1

66/5/1

Mr.

Preston

Mr. Whitehead

Mr. H. H. Stewart,

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Reference..

Hong Kong Depot.

MCC 13/3

RAPA.

66

American File

Mr. Stans' Tour and U.S. Textile Imports.

This morning I was present when Mr. Magor received at the Board of Trade Mr. Nishiwaki (Commercial Counsellor) and Mr. Kawasaki of the Japanese Embassy, who again wished to ask about our likely attitude to the expected request from Mr. Stans for a conference on the extension to non-cotton textiles of the L.T.A.

2.

Mr. Nishiwaki referred to an impression that had been received by a Japanese representative in Geneva in the course of informal and evidently speculative conversations there, that HMG might find it difficult to refuse an American request, if made, for a GATT consultation under Article XXII and that the textile industry in Hong Kong were in favour of voluntary export restraint in order to secure their existing share of the U.S. market. He understood their reasoning to be that their exports of non-cotton textiles to the U.S.A. had recently been fairly static, whilst those of South Korea and Taiwan were growing rapidly. His Government were wondering whether HMG's attitude had become modified since previous conversations of members of his Embassy at the Board of Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

3.

Mr. Magor spoke generally on the lines of his Note of 8 April to Mr. Goldsmith (copy attached).

In respect of particular points raised by Mr. Nishiwaki, Mr. Magor commented that, whilst in view of our ultimate responsibility for Hong Kong's external relations we would of course take fully into account the interests of the textile industry in Hong Kong, it was not the view of HMG that voluntary restraint on non-cotton textile exports to the U.S.A. was in the interest either of Hong Kong or of the U.K. itself. In the case of the latter, not only was it objectionable in principle, but we believed that, in view of the large number of textile exporters, it would be administratively impracticable.

5.

As to suggestions that the Americans would argue, in their talks with W. European governments, that restrictions under an extended L.T.A. would not hurt European textile exporters, Mr. Magor said that British officials simply did not believe this. realised that, to the U.S. we were a low-cost exporting country!

6. Mr. Magor pointed out that we have not yet received any request from the Americans.

We

To date, we

were merely speculating that it was the intention of the U.S. authorities, as indicated in the press con- ference given by Mr. Stans, to ask other governments to enter into a conference with a view to establishing a new LTA for non-cotton textiles or to extending to such textiles the scope of the present LTA.

But we should of course have to examine the precise request that in the event would be put to us before finally settling our tactics, and this would apply also to a hypothetical request under Article XXII of the GATT.

17.

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