CONFIDENTIAL
The position in the Community so far
10. The Foreign Affairs Council discussed the Community's kandate on cumulative market disruption on 8 March and 5 April. Seven Member States, with France and the UK in the lead, have been
consistently in favour of negotiating a "globalisation" clause in
a new MFA. The FRG and Denmark have argued that it is not negotiable in Geneva and that insistence on it would be damaging to free trade as well as likely to cause difficulties in the North/South Dialogue.
13. The Council on 8 March instructed the Commission to prepare a paper, in line with the majority view, on the way to deal with cumulative disruption. The Commission have based this on the concept of the Community drawing up its internal global limits for sensitive products and then negotiating accordingly with the supplying countries. The Commission would ensure that any renewed MFA is compatible with the Community's intentions as described in the paper which would be presented in Geneva. Consequently, if the paper commands broad agreement in Geneva, there might be no need for extensive renegotiations of the MFA.
14. The paper has been through several redrafts and, largely at UK insistence, now provides for solutions which would give considerably improved protection to the Community's textile industry.
The position in Geneva
15. Because of the deadlock at the Council on 8 March, the Community tabled no specific proposals when the GATT textiles Committee met on 16/17 March in Geneva. A further meeting was fixed for the week beginning 18 April, but was postponed because of the Council's failure to reach agreement on 5 April. The Textiles Committee hope to arrange a meeting at short notice if the Community can reach. agreement on 3 May.
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MONETURIPTI AL
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