§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason the UK has chosen to give Pakistan a duty free assistance package rather than offering aid to Pakistan in the form of cash grants. [36249]
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§ Mr. WilsonThe decision by the EU to give Pakistan duty free assistance was part of a package of measures that also included a renewed EC-Pakistan Co-operation Agreement and economic assistance in the form of euro 50 million in development aid in 2002. The whole package was given in response to the exceptional economic and political circumstances faced by Pakistan as a result of its support for the coalition against terrorism following the events of 11 September.
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the duty free access for finished goods originating from Pakistan will be controlled to ensure that Pakistan improves(a) working conditions, (b) environmental controls and(c) human rights. [36248]
§ Mr. WilsonPakistan will have duty free access for many products as a drugs regime country under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). This regime has comprehensive monitoring and evaluation criteria covering social development and environmental policy. Annual reports will be considered by the GSP Committee, and the European Commission will undertake a general review at end of 2004. In addition, there are provisions to withdraw any GSP country's benefits in the event of serious problems in a variety of areas, such as fraud, inadequate drug controls, human rights abuses, and labour rights violations.
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the number of jobs that will be lost in the UK following the decisions by the Government and the European Union to allow duty free access for finished goods originating from Pakistan. [36251]
§ Mr. WilsonAn assessment carried out by my officials last October suggests that the impact of the EU decision to offer duty-free access to Pakistan for made up textiles and clothing is likely to be modest but that it is not possible to say precisely how many jobs will be affected. One reason for this is because any resulting increase in exports from Pakistan will represent at most about a 1 per cent. increase in the value of overall supply of clothing and textiles to the EU market. A second reason is that increased exports from Pakistan are in many instances likely to displace exports from other third country suppliers
§ Jim DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the level of imports of cloth from Indonesia and China sent via Pakistan to be made into apparel goods in order to avoid the duty payable if the cloth had been imported direct to the UK. [36247]
§ Mr. WilsonNo assessment has been made of the level of imports of cloth from Indonesia and China sent via Pakistan to be made into apparel goods as such goods will remain liable to full duty on entry to the UK.