TNAG-1492-FCO40-2050-Future-of-Hong-Kong-General-Agreement-on-Tariffs-and-Trade-(-1986 — Page 327

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TEXTILE COMMITTEE MEETING

4. IN COMMUNITY COORDINATION, LENG HAD NOT CIRCULATED A TEXT BUT SAID HE WOULD STICK CLOSELY TO THE TERMS OF THE MANDATE. THIS HE DID WHEN THE COMMUNITY OPENED THE DISCUSSION IN THE TEXTILE COMMITTEE.

IN PARTICULAR, HE READ THE SENTENCE ON THE GATT ROUND WORD FOR WORD AS AGREED BY THE COUNCIL. THE REMAINDER OF HIS STATEMENT COVERED THE OTHER POINTS IN THE MULTILATERAL SECTION OF THE NEGOTIATING DIRECTIVE. IN ADDITION HE STRESSED THAT THE COMMUNITY'S COMMITMENT TO LIBERALISATION DEPENDED ON PARALLEL EFFORTS FROM OTHERS. OTHERWISE THE COMMUNITY COULD BE OBLIGED TO CHANGE ITS POSITION.

5. OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY SPEAKERS INCLUDED CANADA, WHO WANTED A RENEWAL FOR FOUR TO FIVE YEARS AND SAID THAT THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH MFA 111 HAD BEEN UNHAPPY, PARTICULARLY IN 1983 WHEN THERE HAD BEEN DISORDERLY GROWTH. THESE PROBLEMS WOULD HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH, THOUGH NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF SMALL SUPLIERS. JAPAN SAID THAT THERE SHOULD BE LIBERALISATION BUT WITHIN REALISTIC LIMITS. NORWAY (FOR THE NORDICS) SAID THEIR AIM IN THE LONG RUN WAS A RETURN TO GATT RULES. THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, AND THE MFA SHOULD BE EXTENDED FOR FOUR TO FIVE YEARS. LONGER TERM ARRANGEMENTS

TO FOLLOW THIS WERE FOR DISCUSSION IN THE NEW ROUND.

6.

CARLYLE MADE A TOUGH STATEMENT, SAYING THAT THE US HAD THREE ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:

(A) REINFORCED LANGUAGE ON ORDERLY IMPORT GROWTH AND

PREVENTION OF DESTABILISATION.,

(B) EXTENDED FIBRE COVERAGE.,

(C) A COMMITMENT THAT LDCS WOULD OPEN THEIR MARKETS AND WOULD CURTAIL SUBSIDIES AND OTHER DISTORTING MEASURES.

THE UNITED STATES WAS READY TO NEGOTIATE AND TO SEE INCREASES IN TEXTILE IMPORTS, PROVIDED THESE WERE ORDERLY. BY DISORDERLY INCREASES, HE MEANT GROWTH RATES SUCH AS HAD BEEN SEEN IN THE LAST EIGHTEEN MONTHS: 21% INCREASE IN ASEAN IMPORTS (YEAR ON YEAR), 38-FOLD GROWTH IN INDONESIAN EXPORTS BETWEEN 1980 AND 1984. THE NEGOTIATIONS WOULD BE DIFFICULT AND THE TIME AVAILABLE MUST BE USED PRODUCTIVELY OR IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO FINISH BY 31 JULY. IF THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE NOT CONCLUDED BY THIS DATE, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT (NOT) BE WILLING TO EXTEND THE CURRENT AGREEMENT.

T

19 EXPORTERS SPOKE, LEAD BY COLOMBIA WHO SPOKE ON BEHALF OF THE LIC GROUP AS A WHOLE AND READ OUT THE BEIJING PRESS STATEMENT. THE

FOLLOWING MAIN THEMES EMERGED:

(4) RETURN TO GATT PULES: THERE WERE SOME RITUAL CALLS FOR A FIXED TIMETABLE TO ELIMINATE THE MFA BUT ONLY INDIA PURSUED THIS AT

LENGTH.

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