TNAG-0301-FCO40-337-Effects-of-tariffs-on-imports-of-cotton-textiles-to-UK-from--1971 — Page 88

Registry No.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

In Confidence

DRAFT

letter

To:-

The Chancellor of the

Exchequer

Type 1 +

From

Secretary of State

Telephone No. & Ext.

Department

C.C.

Minister for

Trade

IMPORT OF COTTON TEXTILES TRANSITION FROM QUOTAS

TO TARIFFS ON 1 JANUARY 1972

کا سوال

While I understand the difficulties to which you

referred in your reply of 20 April to Michael Noble's

абе letter of 5 April, I think I should delineate some

you

further aspects of the effect of not giving duty

relief to developing countries in the Commonwealth

Preference Area, and particularly Hong Kong.

As you know India, Pakistan and Hong Kong have

always maintained that they were given hardly any time

in which to consider the implications of our change

policy

s before the change itself was anounced in

un neirome Parliament. Your decision will therefore be ungep

Furthermore it inst wome

with them.

at a time when we are about to have talks

Lat

with the Indians, to try to obtain a waiver from the

whist

middle

of

Έν

Trade Agreement, and we are in the midst of difficult

negotiations with the Hong Kong Government on the size

of their defence contribution for the next five years.

In these latter talks, with the agreement of the

Treasury and the Ministry of Defence, we are seeking

£8.5 m a year from Hong Kong over a period of five

years as a reasonable contribution towards the costs

British

of maintaining armed forces in the Colony. The

Governor considers tha. one of the main reasons for the

So far in the negotiation

lack of progress/has been the resentment which has accumulated over a period of years over actions by

CONFILENI TAL

(134392) Dd. 737115 750M 4/70 Hw.

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