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of the specific restraint limit was disruptive. As a matter of fact, this could not happen because the Agreement contained an overriding limitation on the use of carryover and carryforward. Sharing the views expressed, Mr. Parkinson commented that all were concerned about the statistics but conveniently forgot about what the flexibility provisions were originally intended for.
17.
Mr. Nicholl asked whether Hong Kong's views on the MFA could be made better known in developed countries, Mr. Parkinson said that it was very difficult to get MPs to speak for Hong Kong. MPs from textile constituencies would be speaking for the benefit of their supporters and their local papers. Consumer/retail points of views hardly got a mention. Mr. Bailey said that the ratio of positive statements for more restrictions to negative ones was 20 to 1. The ratio would be even higher in textile regions.
18.
Mr. Parkinson said that the trade in textiles was the most myth-ridden. The Department of Trade was about to issue a document entitled "The Government and The Textile Industries" to explain what exactly was contained in the MFA and the HK/EEC bilateral agreement. The document contained no arguments, just facts. He would launch it in Manchester on 15 September.
19.
Mr. Nicholl said that the Hong Kong textile industry associations. would soon be putting out a pamphlet which examined how the previous and existing MFA had worked, focused on a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding international trade in textiles and reviewed some of the comments on the future of the MFA which had already been made by other organisations.
20.
was
Mr. Bailey said that in the newspapers the previous Friday it was reported that there were seven closures and, as far as the UK industry was concerned, the loss of employment was related to imports from low cost developing countries. Mr. Parkinson commented that it
political problem and it was difficult to expound the virtues of the open-trading system in those circumstances. Mr. Cheng opined that some unions recognised that job loss was not due to imports, or that if it was due to imports, it was not due to imports from developing countries. Mr. Parkinson agreed that some unions did recognise this fact. However in this situation, the industry had to find a scapegoat because it realised that nothing useful could be done about imports from developed countries. He thought therefore that it would be advantageous to expose MPs to Hong Kong's views, and if the gap in the two-way textile trade could be made smaller they would have a disarming effect.
21.
Mr. Bailey said that industries in developed countries perceived developing countries as villains which were the source of unfair competition. Those who criticised unfair competition from developing countries were mainly domestically orientated. They knew very little about international trade and the MFA.
22.
The Chairman said that the word "unfair" was, in his opinion, used wrongly. False declaration, dumping, substitution, etc. constituted "unfair trade". The exclusion of developed countries from global quotas under the concept of 'globalisation' would create unfair competition.
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