25th February, 1953
COMMERCE & AGRICULTURE Canberra, 25 February 1953
Trade-Japan-Australia Following is an extract from a note on an interview between our Minister and the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra on 17th February:
‘The Japanese Ambassador referred to the Prime Minister’s announcement of 16th February regarding a further relaxation of the import restrictions and asked why the relaxation did not apply to Japanese imports. The Ambassador said that the dollar clause had been removed from the Sterling Area Trade Agreement and he did not understand why Japanese imports were still to be restricted.
He asked permission to approach Trade and Customs authorities direct to discuss trade matters. The Minister said that he had no objection whatsoever to the Ambassador discussing trade matters with the trade authorities and he would speak to them about it.’ 2. Copy of this memorandum has been sent to the Departments of Trade and Customs and the Treasury.
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[AA : A609/1, 555/120/4, i]