TNAG-0386-FCO40-432-Exports-of-non-cotton-textiles-from-Hong-Kong-to-the-EEC-1973 — Page 2

Reference. HKK 6

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76

Mr Stuart

Stuart

HONG KONG TEXTILE PROBLEMS

1.

You asked me to discuss with TRD the points covered in your letter of 31 May to Mr Ho.

2. In regard to the cotton arrangements with Ireland (your paragraph 3), the position as I understand it is that this year there is a status quo on textile imports in respect of the acceding countries. The Community (following the accession of the new members) circulated to the exporting countries a list of quotas which was the sum of those of the Six plus the individual country quotas for the other three countries. The question of the quota for Ireland is therefore not an EEC matter this year and we have no connection with it. Mr Dorward raised this question with Miss Lawne on 31 May and was told that if the Hong Kong Government wished to question the figures, they should do so with the Commission direct. TRD agree and I think this is the right approach.

3. On the question of the Yugoslav GSP for textiles, this was also raised by Mr Dorward with Miss Lowne. The important point is that the whole question of the alignment of the EEC GSP and that of the acceding countries still has to be hammered out (by 1 January, 1974). The present Community agreement with Yugoslavia expires on 30 September, 1973, so any arrangement made by the Commission is purely temporary. The important thing

and DTI are fully aware of this is to ensure that Hong Kong is treated on a par with the other developing countries who are bene- ficiaries of the GSP. Basically as you will see, this ties in with what you wrote to Mr Ho.

You may

(b) also like to see Mr Hazle's minute to me of 1 June.

M A Goodfellow

12 June 1973

PA

ا که جوا

Cc:

ต.

Goodfellow. All right

HKK 6/548/2

but

Para 2 is

not

What Miss

She said they would

Lowne told me.

is Brussels. Howered it asked

investigate is Brussels.

I suppose we can say that the coweraction with Mr Doward was later then the

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