TNAG-0334-FCO40-370-Visits-of-Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Af-1972 — Page 203

NISUVM SIM2 NI NELUM EG OL ONIHLON

„ECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Top Secret.

Secret.

Confidential.

Restricted.

Unclassified.

PRIVACY MARKING

To:---

From

Telephone No, & Ext.

Department Commodities

SECRETARY OF STATE'S VISIT TO

HONG KONG

..In Confidence

COTTON TEXTILES

شا

White

Paper

1.

Since 1962, British imports of cotton yarn and woven cotton textiles from developing countries have

from

a munhes of tens

ん

been subject to quota restrictions. India and Hong

Kong have bilateral quotas and there is a global quota for all other developing producers.

In 1969

HMG accepted a recommendation of the Textile Council to discontinue these quotas with effect from

1 January 1972 and to impose a tariff on imports from the Commonwealth Preference area. It was made clear at the time, however, that recourse to quotas might be resumed if total imports rose above present levels to the extent of causing disruption of our own

production of particular products,

(197

2. On 8 December) Loverseas governments were

Аллочите

informed on 1 December) 1971 Ministers [dooided] that

we should have both tariffs and quotas in 1972. The the rentisation Gut the uk wou the requiral

reasons were the unemployment situation in Lancashire;:

inmediately on

we should have to operate quota restraints (When we

jorning. joined the EEC; the risk of diversion of textiles to Britain as a result of American agreements with Asian suppliers of non-cotton textiles; and the evidence of a large build-up of orders already in the pipeline for 1972 our current estimate is that

this is at least the equivalent

30% of the yardage allocation for all the restricted counts les)

136