TNAG-0386-FCO40-432-Exports-of-non-cotton-textiles-from-Hong-Kong-to-the-EEC-1973 — Page 142

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TO PRIORITY FCO TELNO 153 OF 8 FEBRUARY INFO PRIORITY BRUSSELS

(FOR DODGE) THE HAGUE BONN UKREP BRUSSELS COPENHAGEN DUBLIN LUXEMBOURG PARIS ROME UKMIS GENEVA (FOR PEARSON).

UKREP BRUSSELS TELEGRAM 578 TO YOU: NON-COTTON TEXTILES.

A MEMBER OF THE NETHERLANDS CONSULATE GENERAL CALLED YESTERDAY

AT COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT TO ENQUIRE WHY WE INSTITUTED

OUR UNILATERAL RESTRAINT TO THE FRG.

2. WE EXPLAINED THAT THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS WERE:

(A) WHEN OUR DELEGATION WAS IN BRUSSELS FOR CONSULTATIONS WITH THE COMMISSION ON COTTON TEXTILES LAST OCTOBER, ITS ATTENTION HAD BEEN

DRAVN, INFORMALLY AND OUTSIDE THE CONFERENCE ROOM, TO THE STEEP

INCREASES IN GERMAN NON-COTTON TEXTILES IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG:

(B) WHEN JORDAN, DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, WAS IN BONN LAST

DECEMBER THE CONCERN OF THE FRG OVER INCREASING IMPORTS OF NON-

COTTONS FROM HK WAS CONVEYED TO HIM INFORMALLY:

(C) JORDAN HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT THE FRG WOULD BE PROVIDING US WITH

STATISTICS TO SHOW THAT THESE EXPORTS WERE CAUSING OR THREATENING

DAMAGE TO THE GERMAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY:

(D) RUMOURS HAD BEEN CIRCULATING IN THE TRADE, BOTH IN GERMANY AND IN HK, THAT RESTRICTIONS ON NON-COTTON TEXTILES WERE IMMINENT.

THESE RUMOURS WERE CAUSING UNCERTAINTY AND COULD HAVE LED TO

SPECULATIVE ORDERS WHICH MIGHT THEN DISRUPT THE ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT

OF TRADE BETWEEN THE FRG AND MK:

CONFIDENTIAL

/(E) WE THEN HAD TO