ENG-1962 — Page 119

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

87

to preferential rates of duty if imported from dependent Common- wealth territories. The Federation obtained the necessary waiver, in a qualified form, of the rule against the creation of new pref- erences from the contracting parties to GATT in November 1960. This meant that preference could to some extent be restored to the Colony, but subsequent negotiations failed to produce agreement.

A delegation comprising the Under Secretaries of the Federation's Ministries of Economic Affairs, Commerce and Industry and Agriculture, visited Hong Kong at the end of April for further discussions. Provisional agreement was reached on the main matters under dispute and as a first step the Federal Government announced in September an alteration to the definition of the country content required for piecegoods claiming preference. Instead of a single country content varying between 30 per cent and 50 per cent, a Government certificate of origin confirming that the material had been spun, woven and finished in Hong Kong would enable piecegoods of less than 100 per cent cotton to enter the Federation at preferential rates. Before preference could be restored on the other items in question, a further approach to the GATT was considered necessary, and this was made at the session of the contracting parties in October. A number of countries which considered themselves affected by the proposal asked the Rhodesian Government for consultations and these had not been completed by the end of the year.

The year saw the completion of the Dillon round of negotiations in the GATT for tariff changes and the Colony was represented at the session of the contracting parties at Geneva in October. However, restrictions on trade resulting from higher tariff walls erected by overseas countries to protect domestic industries again exceeded measures for liberalization.

The South African Government increased import duties on plastic household articles, electrical apparatus, umbrellas, imitation jewellery and fabrics of man-made fibres and, toward the end of the year, was investigating applications for higher protective duties on cotton threads, toys and brassieres. The Federation of Nigeria raised its tariffs on a very wide range of the Colony's