TNAG-0304-FCO40-340-Effects-of-tariffs-on-imports-of-cotton-textiles-to-UK-from--1971 — Page 102

UNCLASSIFIED

Mr Laird

TALKS WITH HONG KONG ABOUT COTTON TEXTILES

1. Your minute to Mr Hale of 16 December.

2. I note that the "strongest possible delegation from the Textiles Advisory Board" will not attend the formal meetings between the Hong Kong Government delegation and the DTI.

3. I have reached an age at which I have to resist the temptation perpetually to say we did it better in the past, but throughout the 50's when I was the Under Secretary in the Colonial Office responsible for commodity negotiations,; I had to negotiate on behalf of colonial governments with:

4.

a.

in respect of tin, with Sir Hau-Shik Lee and

Mr Ivan Spens etc breathing down my neck,

in respect of rubber, with Mr Khoo Tek Ee,

Sir John Hay etc doing ditto, and

*.

in respect of sugar, Sir Robert Kirkwood, Sir Archibald Cuke, Sir Harold Robinson etc doing ditto.

I regard it as a degeneration in official procedure that Mr Eric Ho should not have to go through the same procedure or that our colleagues in the DTI should be spared a face-to-face confrontation with persons as responsible as Mr Y.K. Kan or Mr S.S. Gordon.

5. In any case as the Secretary of State will be visiting Hong Kong in February we should give consideration as to whether he should not be advised to give an interview to Mr Kan and to Mr Gordon while they are in London.

A

16 December 1971

Copied to: Mr Logan

Mr Hale

Mr Wilford

(L Monson)