TNAG-0301-FCO40-337-Effects-of-tariffs-on-imports-of-cotton-textiles-to-UK-from--1971 — Page 86

NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

.In Confidence

Me Wilford

Mr Laird

Hong Kong Dept

Mr Sutherland

S D

2

McLaren THRO

Any

M Lafbu

9 her

commnants

ем

1

неуджвал

an amendament

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а

U.: Par pare. рас En. P.A.

25) 4

DRAFT

Type 1 +

Submission

Mr Gallagher

To:-

Mr Logan

Mr Godden

Private Secretary

From

ME Heath

Telephone No. & Ext.

Commodities

Department

IMPORT OF COTTON TEXTILES TRANSITION FROM QUOTAS

-

TO TARIFFS ON 1 JANUARY 1972

PROMBLEM

1.

Whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office shou accept dispute the refusal by the Chancellor of the Excheq te

to inlude in the Finance Bill (as proposed by the

L

Minister for Trade) a proposal to relieve from duty,

for

fom the first three months of 1972, imports of costor

textiles from developing countries in the Commonwealth.

Preference Area,which are shipped under quota in 197.

but do not arrive here until 1972.

ARGUMENT AND BACKGROUND

2. As Mr Noble's letter makes clear, the objec

of tariff relief would be to avoid heavy bunching of

imports. Given the opposition of the Commonwealth.

developing countries to the imposition of the arluf,

agreed with

the FCO sifured this objective on all meie vomit,

but most particularly in respect of Hong Kong.

3.

7

The Hong Kong Government feel strongly about the decision to replace quotas by tariff, arguing that ar

we are successful in our application to join the

their exporters will before long find their market in

the United Kingdom controlled both by tariff and by

with Hong Kong

October and this February, wall

quotas. In talks s 2act

we made clear that we say no possibility of the chung.

to replace Emotas

the decision we were prepared to consider urgen- an

ksaid that we!.

sympathetically ways of excluding from the

CONFIDENTIAL.