01 222 7877
Ext.2014
COMMITTEE OF PRIVE
OUNCIL-FOR
R.+R.
BOARD OF TRADE
1 VICTORIA STREET
LONDON S.W.1
67
5th August,
1969.
Your ref. HKK 6/548/1
34/ B.t
$1969?
Dear John,
You wrote to me on 3rd July concerning Hong Kong's exports .to the U.K. of wide sheeting and sheets.
2. First let me say that the Board of Trade has never disputed that the September 1968 talks were conducted within the framework of the 1966 Heads of Agreement. The issue was whether the Agreement could be interpreted by Hong Kong in a way which was inconsistent with the Long Term Arrangement: the U.K. market for wide-sheeting and sheets had clearly been disrupted by rapidly rising imports from India and Hong Kong and we took the not unreasonable view that we were entitled under the L.T.A. to ask both countries to reduce their exports of wide sheeting and sheets to help stabilise the market.
3. In our view there can be no question of allowing Hong Kong more than 3 per cent growth. The original Aide Memoire said that H.M. G. would find it very difficult to contemplate any increase in imports of wide sheeting and sheets from India and Hong Kong in the period up to the end of 1970, when the present Agreement expires, and we made it quite clear in the talks that the restrictions were to remain in force for a period of two years from 1st January 1968. It is true that Hong Kong reserved her position on this point and that we agreed to supply her with figures showing U.K. imports from other countries at the half-way stage, but we made it clear during the talks that there was no possibility of our agreeing to a relaxation in the control after the first year.
4. We had authority to offer up to 3 per cent growth, but to avoid this if at all possible, because by then imports were considerably in excess of domestic production. The fact that we made an offer at all through Carter immediately after
-
Shaun Stewart left Hong Kong was because in the six-hour session on the previous evening Stewart had forgotten to include within the package a clause committing the Hong Kong authorities to suspend export authorisation on finished wide sheeting, and it was thought necessary to offer them an incentive to do so. Carter made the offer as a member of the Delegation and it was not refused. This was on the Saturday before Jordan put the
J. O. Moreton, Esq.,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
London,
S.W.1.
LAST
REF.
(54)
NEXT
REF.
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No.51
-6 AUG 1969
HKK6/568 аккы 5481
/package
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.