TNAG-0386-FCO40-432-Exports-of-non-cotton-textiles-from-Hong-Kong-to-the-EEC-1973 — Page 97

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THE DURATION OF THE AGREEMENT WOULD BE 1973 ONLY WITH PROVISION

FOR EXTENSION BY A YEAR IF THE LTA WERE PROLONGED IN WHICH CASE THE

COMMUNITY'S AGREEMENT ON COTTONS UNDER THE LTA SHOULD ALSO SE

EXTENDED. THE AGREEMENT WOULD ALSO BE SUBJECT TO ADAPTATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ANY MULTI-LATERAL AGREEMENT ON TEXTILES. THIS PROPOSA

WAS AGREED.

4. THE COMMISSION DISTRIBUTED A SERIES OF STATISTICAL TABLES AS A

BASIS FOR DISCUSSION OF THE SENSITIVE LIST. THEY ENVISAGED A SYSTEM

OF NINE GLOBAL QUOTAS ON 4-FIGURE TARIFF HEADINGS WITH A TOTAL OF 15

SPECIFIC QUOTAS ON 6-FIGURE TARIFF HEADINGS WITHIN THE GLOBAL

QUOTAS. THERE WAS LITTLE SERIOUS DISCUSSION OF THE DETAILS OF THE

LIST WHICH DELEGATIONS HAD NOT HAD TIME TO STUDY, WE SAID THAT WE DID NOT CONSIDER THAT THE DATA PRODUCED BY THE COMMISSION (WHICH

CONSISTED OF IMPORT FIGURES) PROVIDED ANY EVIDENCE OF MARKET

DISRUPTION AND THAT WE WERE THEREFORE UNABLE TO TAKE A POSITION CH

THE LIST. WE COULD ONLY AGREE TO RESTRICTIONS ON SPECIFIC PRODUCTS

IF THEY COULD BE JUSTIFIED ON THE BASIS OF CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF

MARKET DISRUPTION FOR THOSE PRODUCTS. THIS STAND WAS FULLY

SUPPORTED BY THE GERMANS, WE WENT ON TO SAY THAT WE WERE OPPOSED TO

RESTRICTIONS ON GOODS WHICH WERE SENSITIVE FOR ONE PARTICULAR

REGION OF THE COMMUNITY BEING AUTOMATICALLY APPLIED TO THE COMMUNITY

AS A WHOLE. WE WERE ALSO OPPOSED TO THE FIXING OF RESTRICTIONS AT

UNREALISTICALLY LOW LEVELS AS HAD BEEN DONE IN THE COMMUNITY'S COTTON

AGREEMENTS, THE DANES SUPPORTED OUR VIEWS ON THESE POINTS. THE

GERMANS SAID THEY COULD NOT SUPPORT A SOLUTION INVOLVING NATIONAL

MEASURES BY MEMBER STATES WHICH WOULD BE A BLOW AGAINST THE COMMON COMMERCIAL POLICY. THE COMMISSION (PACLI) WONDERED WHETHER SOME

SYSTEM OF COMMUNITY QUOTAS WITH BUTOIRS' FOR MEMBER STATES WOULD

NOT BE POSSIBLE BUT DID NOT ELABORATE ON THIS IDEA. THE ITALIANS

ARGUED FOR A SAFEGUARD CLAUSE COVERING ALL TEXTILE PRODUCTS IN

ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE PRODUCTS WHICH WERE NOT CURRENTLY SENSITIVE

BUT MIGHT BECOME SO. THEY WERE NOT OPPOSED TO NATIONAL MEASURES.

THE RELCIANS AND DUTCH INDICATED THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE COMMISSION'S

PROPOSAL, SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS OF DETAIL THEY ACCEPTED

THE COMMISSION'S DRAFT SENSITIVE LIST AND THEY WERE PREPARED TO

PROVIDE FULL DOCUMENTATION AS EVIDENCE OF MARKET DISRUPTION AS THEY

HAD DONE IN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS WITH HONG KONG IN 1970.

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