-2-
would be reviewed
(1) if it came to be regarded as establishing a
precedent for other countries to follow;
and
(2) if as a result of the decision, Hong Kong was
thereby penalised in relation to her competitors
in the trade.
The restraint levels remained unchanged for the year
commencing 1st October 1968. Apparently the Canadians withdrew
a request for a new restraint to be imposed on exports of
polyester/polynosic shirts as a quid uro quo for not according a
growth on polyester/cotton shirts. Poth the provisos to the
1967 agreement have been breached;
United States) interested in restricting man-made fibre imports
have cited the Canadian precedent; and other low cost suppliers
other countries (notably the
have been able to increase their share of the Canadian market in
the period in which Hong Kong trade has been under control.
The Recent Negotiations between Hong Kong and Canada
The restraints on polyester/cotton garments run to the
30th September 1969. The Canadian Government wishes not only to
renew them, but also to bring woven polyester/polynosic shirts
under restraint immediately. They argue that polynosic fibres are
a direct substitute for cotton; and that Canadian shirt manu-
facturers are being damaged by imports of polyester/polynosic
shirts from Hong Kong. On statistical grounds, the Canadian case Cofman-made flore/cotton blends is not particularly strong, given that domestic production of shirts almost quadrupled
between 1966 and 1968. The difficulties of Canadian shirt
producers stem partly from their failure to switch production sufficiently rapidly from cotton shirts (demand for which had
halved in 2 years) into the more popular man-made firbre shirts
(demand for which has more than trebled). The Canadians have made
much play with the political pressures on them not this time from
producers in the Prairies, but from those in the Province of Quebec
Brand of Tracke CRE and Justustices I
September 1969
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