TNAG-0628-FCO40-776-Effect-of-GATT-Multi-Fibre-Arrangement-on-Hong-Kong-negotiat-1977 — Page 166

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expire at the end of September; our bilateral agreement with the

EEC, and also the MFA itself, at the end of 1977.

5.

The whole of Hong Kong's textiles and clothing industry

is seriously concerned about developments in all three areas but

the purpose of our visit here is mainly to express our concern

at the policies which are reportedly being pursued by the EEC

and by the UK Government in respect of the future of the MFA and,

in consequence, the terms of a new bilateral agreement between

Hong Kong and the EEC.

6.

As far as the UK is concerned, I am sure you will agree

that the Hong Kong industry has always recognised the difficulties

of its UK counterpart.

textiles to the UK were first put under restraint on an industry to

industry basis, Hong Kong has conceded more to the UK than it has to

any other importing country. I need not remind you that where cotton

textiles were concerned, since 1959 the annual growth rates on

restraint limits was only 1% until 1972 when polyester/cotton

textiles were also placed under restraint and the annual growth

rate became 2%. When the MFA came into force in 1974, we were

glad to note that one of its basic objective was to "achieve the

expansion of trade, the reduction of barriers to such trade and

the progressive liberalisation of world trade in textile products".

But instead things took a turn for the worse as far as the UK was

concerned. It is now history that when the present HK/EEC Textiles

Agreement was concluded in 1975 we had to accept annual growth rates

for the UK market in 7 restraint items at 0.5% only and for the UK

market as a whole only something around 2%.

Indeed since 1959 when our exports of cotton

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