RESTRICTED
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL PUT FORWARD BY THE CHAIRMAN AT THE TS B MEETING ON 3 MARCH, PROVIDED THAT THE ''OBSERVER'' STATUS COULD BE SATISFACTORILY DEFINED. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THIS FORMULA WOUL BE A POLITICAL GESTURE TO THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. TRAN AGREED WITH OUR COMMENT THAT THIS NEW FORMULA WOULD TIP THE BALANCE IN THE TSB BUT HE THOUGHT THAT ANY SUCH 'OBSERVER'' WOULD BE IN AN EXTREMELY WEAK POSITION IN THE T S B WHICH REVOLVES AROUND THE POWERFUL PERSONALITIES OF THE ''OLD HANDS''
3. TRAN SAID THAT NEITHER HE NOR THE JAPANESE AND AMERICAN CHIEF NEGOTIATORS WOULD BE GOING TO GENEVA FOR THE TEXTILE COMMITTEE. THEY THOUGHT IT WISER TO LET THINGS WORK THEMSELVES OUT. ALL MEMBER STATES SAID THEY TOO WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO SEND TEXTILES EXPERTS FROM CAPITALS TO THIS MEETING.
C. TS B NOTIFICATION OF AGREEMENTS.
4. TRAN POINTED OUT THAT THE T S B SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF AGREEMENTS BEING CONCLUDED: THIS HAD NOT YET BEEN DONE. HOWEVER, HE INTENDED TO NOTIFY THEM ON A TRANSITIONAL BASIS AND THESE AGREEMENTS WOULD THEN BE EXAMINED BY THE T S BIN MAY.
D. T S B RELATIONS WITH THE AMERICANS.
5. BECK REPORTED THAT INITIALLY THE ATMOSPHERE IN SAN FRANCISCO HAD BEEN DISTINCTLY COOL BECAUSE OF THE COMMUNITY'S ACTION IN THE TSB TO BLOCK THE AGREEMENTS THAT THE U.S. HAD NEGOTIATED WITH INDIA AND POLAND. HOWEVER, THE ATMOSPHERE HAD LATER IMPROVED AND THE U.S. HAD EXPLAINED THAT THEIR PROBLEMS WITH THE COMMUNITY'S AGREEMENTS WITH THIRD COUNTRIES WERE MAINLY VISUAL. FOR EXAMPLE THE U.S. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY HAD IMMEDIATELY NOTICED THE LOWER GROWTH RATES GRANTED BY THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPLIERS. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WERE PARTICULARLY WORRIED ABOUT THEIR EXCHANGE OF LETTERS WITH
HONG KONG AND KOREA WHICH THEY WOULD BE MORE OR LESS
''COMPELLED'' TO RENEGOTIATE IF THE COMMUNITY HAD OBTAINED
MORE FAVOURABLE AGREEMENTS WITH THESE COUNTRIES. THEY WERE THEREFORE ANXIOUS TO OBTAIN AMMUNITION FROM THE COMMISSION TO RESIST THE CHARGE OF THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRIES THAT THE COMMUNITY
HAD DONE BETTER. TRAN ADDED THAT THE U.S. WOULD NOW BE UNLIKELY
TO CHALLENGE ANY OF OUR BILATERAL AGREEMENTS IN THE TS B
PROVIDED THAT WE DID NOT CHALLENGE THEIRS.
2 RESTRICTED
/6. MIFT (NOT TO GENEVA)
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