TNAG-0244-FCO40-280-Exports-of-textiles-from-Hong-Kong-to-USA-1970 — Page 111

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They had not yet accepted that there was such a problem.

To sum up, he said that careful note had been taken’of

what the U.S. Government representatives had had to say

and reports would now be made to the U.K. and H.K.

Governments.

There would no doubt be further discussions

between the U.K. and H.K. Governments and further considera-

tion given to whether there was a need for the two Governments

to change their earlier stand on this issue. He thought that

the response was most likely to be that some other means would.

have to be found of solving the problem.

There was a

considerable difference between the comprehensive and the

selective approaches. The principal difficulty at the

moment in taking the matter further was that there was in

G.A.T.T. a need to limit action to the particular products

causing damage. Which those particular products were was

still not clear and thus he and his colleagues found difficulty

in responding in a helpful way.

77.

Mr. Nehmer said he could not understand where

a new issue of principle arose for Hong Kong in arriving

at a comprehensive bilateral agreement. Exports of non-

cotton shirts from Hong Kong to Canada provided a good

example of how trade moved ahead of controls. He would

therefore like to have Hong Kong's views on where the

difference lay between a selective and comprehensive

approach.

/78.

CONFIDENTIAL