TNAG-0172-FCO40-208-United-Kingdom-Productivity-and-Efficiency-Study-effect-on-H-1969 — Page 109

CONFIDENTIAL

CABINET

COIMITTEE OF COMMERCIAL POLICY

POLICY ON INTORTS OF COTTON TEXTILES APR 1970

Memorandum by the President of the Board of Trade

44

Introduction

In June 1966 the Textile Council which covers the cotton,

silk and man-made fibre industries nas asked by the Board of

Trade to carry out a study on ways and means of increasing the

productivity and efficiency of the cotton textile industry.

Council's Report was published on March 31st.

The Textile Council's Troposals on imports

The

2. The Textile Council made a number of recommendations for action.

by both Government and industry. These are set out in Annex 1. In

this Memorandum I am concerned only with the recommendations on

future policy regarding inports which are:

(1)

(ii)

(111)

that the present system of import quotas should be abolished for all countries, with the exception of the Comaunist bloc, and that a tariff should be imposed on imports from the Commonwealth from 1st January, 1972, at the m.f.n. rate or, if this would assist negotiation, at 85% of the n.f.n. rate. (The Council have also said that they would be prepared to see the date advanced by a year if this would help.) Imports from EFTA and the Irish Republic would continue to be admitted duty-free;

that the Government should make effective use of the strengthened legislation to stop the market being disrupted by dumped and subsidised imports; and

that the United Kingdom should retain the freedom to have equal recourse with other major inporting countries to combat market disruption or in other special circumstances.

CONFIDENTIAL

The industrial background