CYPHER/CAT A
PRIORITY
HONG KONG
TELEGRAM NO. 634
CONFIDENTIAL
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No. 5.1
fa
TO FOREIGN AND COMMOLAME ALTUOOFFICE
22 SEPT 1973.
CONFIDENTIAL NEUTRAL/ 220900Z
HKKE
WK 6/6
ADDRESSED FCO TELNO 634 OF 22 SEPTEMBER RFI UKDEL EEC BRUSSELS (FOR DODGE) UKMIS GENEVA (FOR JONES ONN THE HAGUE PARIS ROME HK GOVT OFFICE LONDON
COTTON TEXTILES: HK/EEC.
REF.
YOU WILL RECALL THAT IN JUNE (MY TELNO 421
56
FELT OBLIGED TO ASK YOU TO INTERVENE WITH THE COMMISSION, IN VIEW OF THE HIGH- HANDED CONDUCT OF ERNST IN RELATION TO A POSSIBLE BILATERAL AGREEMENT ON HONG KONG COTTON TEXTILE EXPORTS TO THE COMMUNITY. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE INTERVENTION BY UKDEL BRUSSELS ON 14 JULY, WHICH WAS MADE IN CLEAR AND UNEQUIVOCAL TERMS. CHRISTOFAS' SPEAKING NOTE SHOWS THAT HE CONVEYED YOUR FULL SUPPORT OF OUR LINE THAT, WHILE WE AGREED IN PRINCIPLE TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS, THE COMMISSION SHOULD PROVIDE, BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS STARTED, ''THE EVIDENCE OF INJURY OR DISRUPTION WHICH ALONE, UNDER THE TERMS OF THE CTA, WOULD JUSTIFY THE EXERCISE OF RESTRAINT*’
2. AS REPORTED AT THE TIME IN UKDEL BRUSSELS TELNO 319 TO YOU, ERNST'S REACTION WAS TO DESCRIBE THE APPROACH AS REASONABLE AND "TO UNDERTAKE TO MAKE AVAILABLE ALL THE RELEVANT STATISTICS WHICH HE HAD'. THE STATISTICS WHICH WERE HANDED OVER LATER WERE, HOWEVER, CONFINED TO FIGURES FOR IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG,
3. AT THE TALKS WHICH WERE HELD IN GENEVA IN JULY AND REPORTED IN
Nut UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 36 TO ME, THE HONG KONG SIDE MADE A FORMAL
Λ.
16
>
OPENING STATEMENT COPY OF WHICH WAS HANDED TO ERNST, IT REFERRED TO OUR ''WILLINGNESS TO MEET THE COMMUNITY'S WISHES FOR NEGOTATIONS WITH A VIEW TO REACHING AN AGREEMENT NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE CTA'' AND WENT ON TO STRESS THE IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG OF OUR TEXTILE TRADE AND OF OUR RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND SPELT OUT AT SOME LENGTH THE POINTS MADE IN PARA (2) OF THE TELEGRAM JUST REFERRED TO. WE ARE IN NO DOUBT THAT, IN RESPONSE TO THIS STATEMENT, ERNST PROMISED TO PRODUCE THE JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, PROBABLY ABOUT MID-SEPTEMBER. HOWEVER, BRUSSELS TELS 31 AND 32 SHOW THAT ERNST HAS AGAIN REVERTED TO THE LINE HE HAS TAKEN BEFORE (CF UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 25 TO ME). CONFIDENTIAL
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