·
+
than we in ours because their industry is protected by a tariff and ours is not.
12.
Swedish production of discontinuous synthetics rose from 1,234 thousand in 1965 to 1,506 thousand in 1967 before falling to 1,049 thousand in 1968, but in view of the fact that imports also increased dramatically and then fell by 1,641 thousand pieces between 1967 and 1968, it can hardly be argued that imports were responsible for the decline in the domestic industry. Would C.R.E.I.
agree that in similar circumstances the British industry would be entitled to seek protection under Auricle XIX of the G.A.T.T. on a discriminatory basis? A similar decline took place in production and imports of women's continuous synthetic knitwear, which the Swedes are now prothing to release from control, at least in the case of Hong Kong.
13.
It is of considerable interest in this connection that Swedish production of discontinuous synthetic knitwear increased from 273,000 in 1967 to 386,000 in 1968. Miss Welch did not get out separate figures for this item, but by subtraction it would appear that total imports of men's synthetic, including continuous, knitwear increased to 1,369 thousand in 1967 and then fell to 1,214 thousand. Hong Kong's share of the trade seems to have been marginal. It is possible that this reduction is more than accounted for by a reduction in imports of men's continuous synthetics, where Swedish production has increased very sharply, from 933 thousand in 1967 to 1,401 thousand in 1968, but even so it is difficult to see what justification there is for putting men's discontinuous synthetics on E.A.'s, with all the risk that this implies for future trade, as has been well demonstrated this year by the arbitrary Swedish demand for suspension of E.A.'s pending consultations.
14.
Our apparant failure last summer to appreciate that the position on women's continuous synthetics was very diffirent from that on wool and discontinuous synthetics underlines the danger of being forced into decisions on inedaquate statistical information. We ought to look carefully at what has happened to imports of cotton knitwear. Are we sure that imports of synthetics have not been at the expense of imports of cotton knitwear?
15. All the evidence suggests, however, that in 1968 Swedish women did not think that it was fashionable to be seen around in a sweater. Swedish men, on the other
The Swedes are hand, were taking to wearing the turtle-necked shirt cum sweater. simply trying to cushion the impact of these charges on the domestic industry by cutting back imports.
Polyester/Cotton Shirts
n
16. We successfully resisted the Swedish demand for restraint last year on the grounds that the increase in imports of woven polyester-cotton shirts had nothing
Swedish to do with the decline in Swedish production of shirts generally. production of woven polyester/cotton shirts had stood still. What had happened was that Swedish production of cotton and knitted nylon shirts had taken a hard knock as a result of increased imports of, in particular, knitted nylon shirts from Portugal. In the event it can now be seen that Swedish production of polyester/cotton shirts increased substantially in 1968, as did imports from Hong
Kong.
17. The Industries 1 view is that it is not very realistic to look at the different parts of the shirt market in isolation, though in view of their behaviour any stick should be used to beat the Swedes. Total production etc. is as follows:
1965
1966
1967
1968
Production
7,062.
6,294
4.906
3,725
Imports
3,628
4,261
5.945
6,423
Exports
1,684
·1,518
1,287
952.
Consumption
9,006
9,037
· 9.564
9,196
which shows that between 1967 and 1968 the fall of 1181 thousand in production was made of a 478 thousand increase in imports, a 335 thousand reduction in exports and
a 368,000 reduction in consumption. a good deal stronger than it is now. the first two months of this year. as follows:
The case against imports in earlier years was It would be useful to know what happened in The earlier import figures were brokeri down
/1965
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