RESTRICTED
THEY REPEATED THAT FRANCE COULD NOT BE COMMITTED BY THE TEXT
AS IT STOOD AND THREATENED TO DECLARE THEIR DISSENT IN THE
MEETING OF THE 7+7 WHICH TRAN REVEALED WAS CONTEMPLATED FOR
20 JULY IF THE COMMISSION CIRCULATED THIS TEXT OR ASID ANY
THING WHICH PURPORTED TO COMMIT MEMBER STATES TO IT. TRAN
. AGREED NOT TO DO THIS IN THE 7+7 BUT GAVE NO OTHER COMMITMENT.
3. THE UK SAID THAT THE EFFECT OF THE CHANGES IN PARAGRAPHS 5
AND & OF THE TEXT WAS, AT FIRST READING, OBSCURE. PARAGRAPH 5 HOWEVER NOW SEEMED LESS, RATHER THAN MORE, SATISFACTORY SINCE THE COMMITMENT TO FLEXIBILITY WAS NOW ATTRIBUTED ONLY CERTAIN EXPORTING PARTICIPANTS WHICH CURRENTLY HAVE A DOMINANT MULTI-
FIBRE TEXTILE SHARE".
•
4. TRAN-EXPLAINED THAT THE CHANGES IN PARAGRAPH 5 HAD BEEN NEC-
ESSARY BECAUSE ONLY HONG KONG AMONG THE EXPORTERS WERE NOW
PREPARED TO HAVE THEIR REMARKS CONCERNING FLEEXIBILITY EXPLIC-
ITLY REFERRED TO IN THE TEXTILES COMMITTEE TEXT. ANY REFERENCE
IN IT TO A WAIVER FROM THE PROVISIONS OF ANNEX E AS REQUIRED
BY FRANCE WAS ABSOLUTELY UNNEGOTIABLE WITH THE EXPORTING COUNTRIES.
IN THE LIGHT OF INSTRUCTIONS RECEIVED A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
FROM BRUSSELS HE WAS HOWEVER PREPARED TO PROPOSE A FURTHER
AMENDMENT TO PARAGRAPH & (TEXT IN MIFT).
5. THE MEETING ENDED WITH A PROTEST FROM THE GERMANS THAT THE WORK OF THE ARTICLE 113 COMMITTEE IN GENEVA WAS BEING UNDERMINED
BY INERVENTIONS AT POLITICAL LEVEL IN CERTAIN MEMBER STATES'
CAPITALS. THE CHAIR EXPRESSED SOME SYMPATHY WITH THIS SENTIMENT.
THE UK OBSERVED THAT THE PROCEDURES FOLLOWED IN THE COMMITTEE HAD BEEN THOROUGHLY UNSATISFACTORY, MAKING IT NECESSARY FOR MEMBER STATES TO REGISTER THEIR VIEWS ELSEWHERE.
6. WHEN THE 7+7 MET TRAN HE EXPLAINED THAT A TEXT HAD TAKEN SHAPE (THOUGH IT STILL HAD TO BE PUT INTO DIFINITIVE FORM)
WHICH IDENTIFIED A CONVERGENCE OF VIEWS AMONG MOST PARTICIPATING
COUNTRIES, BUT THAT ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS HAD BEEN ACHIEVED SOME PARTICIPANTS WERE APPARENTLY STILL NOT IN A
POSITION TO ACCEPT IT. A FURTHER EFFORT SHOULD THEREFORE BE
MADE.
2 RESTRICTED
17.
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