REQUESTS BY AUSTRALIA

Canberra, 5 October 1956

1. The Australian requests [1] are expressed in general terms with
regard to several goods. Furthermore, the extent to which the
Japanese Government is able to comply with these requests will
depend in no small measure on the outcome of detailed
negotiations.

The Japanese Government is not therefore yet prepared to make, at
this stage, more precise statements on the matter than those
mentioned below.

2. As to the third paragraph of the Australian request, it is
hoped that each country will accord most-favoured-nation and non-
discriminatory treatments in its territory to the goods from the
other.

Many of the Australian requests such as stated in paragraph
4(i)(b) and (d), (ii) and (iii) and paragraph 5 give the
impression that the Australian Government is asking for treatments
better than those usually regarded as most-favoured-nation and
nondiscriminatory treatments.

If the Australian side is in fact making such requests, they may
be able to be considered on the basis of reciprocity after both
sides have agreed to accord most-favoured-nation and non-
discriminatory treatments to the goods from each other's
territory.

3. As to paragraphs 4, 5 and 6, the Japanese Government wishes to
hear the Australian views in further detail in the course of the
forthcoming negotiations before it states its reactions fully.

One thing has to be made clear at this stage.

The Australian side requests the continuation of treatment not
less favourable than that now accorded in respect of all goods
imported from Australia in relation to import licensing and/or
exchange control.

In view of its current position of balance of international
payments, the Japanese Government has recently been relinquishing
some of the measures adopted about a year ago in favour of
importation from the sterling areas, as compared with imports from
the other currency areas. Therefore there may arise in the near
future a situation where some Australian goods will be accorded
less favourable treatment than that now accorded.

On the other hand, it will be possible for the Japanese Government
to continue to allow Australian goods to be imported on a non-
discriminatory basis.

4. The Japanese Government is making detailed preparations for
sending to Canberra its delegation which is expected to leave
Tokyo within a few weeks.