TNAG-0386-FCO40-432-Exports-of-non-cotton-textiles-from-Hong-Kong-to-the-EEC-1973 — Page 9

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KONG THEY HAD OTHER AND POSSIBLY GREATER PROBLEMS WITH OTHER

COUNTRIES SUCH AS TAIWAN. AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF A MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT IN GENEVA, THE COMMISSION SHOULD SUBMIT PROPOSALS COVERING ALL THE FAR EASTERN COUTTRIES CONCERNED. THE ITALIANS ALSO RESERVED,

THEIR POSITION ON THE OPENING OF NEGOTIATIONS WITH HONG KONG

AND DREW ATTENTION TO THE POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS ON THE MULTIL-

ATERAL NEGOTIATIONS IN GENEVA OF ANY MOVE TOWARDS SUCH A NEGOTIATION

AT THE PRESENT TIME, THE FRENCH CONFIRMED THEIR PREVIOUS RESERVE ON

NEGOTIATIONS WITH HONG KONG FOR SIMILAR REASONS. THE DANES AND TRISH

SUPPORTED THE POSITION TAKEN UP BY THE BENELUX, UK AND ITALY.

4. THE GERMANS SAID THEY WANTED FURTHER CONSIDERATION TO BE GIVEN

BY THE GROUP TO THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSAL FOR A HONG KONG MANDATE.

THEY DID NOT ACCEPT THAT THERE WERE NO LONGER ANY PROBLEMS TO BE

SOLVED. HOWEVER, TIMES HAD CHANGED, THE HONG KONG PROBLEM WAS NO LONGER SO URGENT AND MORE TIME SHOULD BE DEVOTED TO THE TECHNICAL

ELABORATION OF THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS BEFORE THEY WERE SUBMITTED

TO THE COREPER. FURTHER DISCUSSIONS SHOULD AIM AT MORE LIBERAL

SOLUTIONS. THE GERMAN DELEGATION HAD PARTICULARLY IN MIND THE

GOVERNMENTS ANTI-INFLATION PROGRAMME, WHICH OPERATES AGAINST

IMPORT RESTRICTIONS.

5. IN THE FACE OF THIS UNANIMOUS OPPOSITION BY THE GROUP TO RECOMM-

ENDING TO COREPER THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE DRAFT MANDATE, ERNST

CONTINUED TO INSIST THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD RAISE THE QUESTION

IN THE COREPER ON ITS OWN BEHALF. HE INDICATED THAT THE COMMISSION

MIGHT NOT OPPOSE THE DROPPING FROM CONSIDERATION OF THE HONG KONG MANDATE IF THE COREPER WERE TO INSTRUCT THE GROUP TO CONSIDER THE COMMUNITY'S POLICY ON BILATERAL AGREEMENTS ON/ BROADER

BASIS, AS THE COMMISSION HAD RECOMMENDED IN ITS DOCUMENT OF SEPTEMBER 1972. THE FRENCH SUPPORTED THE NEED FOR FURTHER STUDY

BY THE GROUP OF THE GENERAL SCHEMA OF BILATERAL AGREEMENTS AND

ADDED THAT OTHER COUNTRIES THAN THE FOUR INCLUDED IN THE COMMISSION'S ORIGINAL PAPER (INCLUDING MACAO) WERE INVOLVED. THE GERMANS INDICATED THAT THEY WERE OPPOSED TO EXTENDING THE GROUP'S DISCUSSIONS TO OTHER

COUNTRIES. IT WAS AGREED THAT AN INTERIM REPORT SHOULD BE MADE TO

THE COREPER AND GUIDANCE SOUGHT ON THE LINES OF FUTURE WORK IN THE

GROUP.

6. THIS WAS A STUBBORN PERFORMANCE BY THE COMMISSION, WHICH HAS NOW

BEEN LED ROUND FULL CIRCLE. IT BEGAN LAST SEPTEMBER ADVOCATING

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/NEGOTIATIONS