CONFIDENTIAL
4.
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I said that we would certainly welcome any such
proposals that had general support; but that for obvious
reasons we would not feel free to take any leading part in
putting them forward until we knew where the EEC stood on
the matter. Mr Samuels said that the United States Government
perfectly well understood this limitation on our freedom of
action.
5.
He explained that the background of their thinking
on this matter was their fear that protectionist pressures
in Congress and elsewhere would become too strong unless it
could be shown that the EEC and Japanese were prepared to be
reasonable. He referred in particular to his hopes that 23
they had represented to Signor Malfatti when he was in the
United States recently -the EEC might be ready to make some
minor improvements in fields such as citrus which were
of disproportionate significance to figure in United States
politics. I asked Mr Samuels whether Mr Carl Gilbert
would be saying much on this topic during this week's talks
at the meeting in Geneva. Mr Samuels said that he doubted it.
If the initiative were well and truly launched, there would
certainly be negotiating processes that could best take place.
under GATT, but he did not envisage much being said at the
GATT during the present "pre-launching" stage.
Textiles
6.
I raised the question of what Hong Kong could best
do in the light of the attitude of the Japanese Government
and/
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