§ 16. Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Trade when he intends to meet the Ministers of overseas trade of the Commonwealth countries.
§ Mr. ShoreI have already had a very useful meeting with the New Zealand Minister of Overseas Trade and look forward to meeting the Canadian Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce in London this week. I hope to meet other Commonwealth Trade Ministers in the not very distant future.
§ Mrs. ShortIs my right hon. Friend aware that most people in this country are deeply concerned about the decline in our trade with our former Commonwealth partners—just as concerned as they are over the staggering deficit we have with the Common Market countries? Will he bear in mind that we would like to see an improvement in our trade with the Commonwealth 14 countries, particularly New Zealand and Australia, for which we are still the largest market for dairy products and meat?
§ Mr. ShoreI wholly concur in my hon. Friend's sentiments, and I shall be doing my best to improve our trade with Commonwealth countries in the years ahead.
§ Mr. BodyWhen the right hon. Gentleman has his meeting with the Ministers, will he make plain the Government's view about taxes on food imported from the Commonwealth, particularly on the kind of foodstuffs which we are told are now scarce?
§ Mr. ShoreYes, Sir. If they are not already informed, I shall ensure that they realise just how critical we are of the necessity of imposing taxes on imported food from traditional Commonwealth suppliers.
§ Mr. BakerIn reply to this and other Questions the right hon. Gentleman has said that one of the prime objectives of the Government is increased exports, and that meets with the approval of both sides of the House. Will he remind the House, because it may have escaped our attention, what specific proposals to increase exports were contained in the Budget?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. How that supplementary question can possibly arise out of Question No. 16 I do not know.