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that anomaly lay in the existence of the C.T.A.
88.
Sir Eugene Melville thanked the U.S. Government
representatives for the care with which they had presented
the additional information on the state of the U.S. industry.
If the U.S. Government was to raise the problems which it
faced, in the G.A.T.T., the U.K. and Hong Kong Governments
would of course be ready to consider them in that forum.
He pointed out that the G.A.T.T. did not provide for antici-
patory action but for immediate specific action. The
selective approach, in his view took account of the G.A.T.T.
whilst the proposals for a comprehensive bilateral agreement
did not. The British and Hong Kong Governments were genuinely
worried about the wider repercussions of the action proposed
by the U.S. Government. He said that he and his colleagues
would make a full report of the discussions to their respective
governments. The U.S. Government representatives would no
doubt be talking with other suppliers to the U.S. market and
when these talks were completed it was likely that there would
be further discussions.
89.
Mr. Wehmer thought that both sides had gone as far
as they could and believed that the discussions had been
useful. He warned that there were powerful protectionist
forces in the U.S. who had considerable influence with
Congress. If a negotiated solution to the textile problem
was not forthcoming, then an imposed solution certainly
/would
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