§ 53. Lieut.-Colonel Schofieldasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that the continued and growing imports of Indian cotton cloth into this country are causing anxiety in Lancashire; and what steps he proposes to take to limit such imports with a view to avoiding unemployment in the cotton textile industry.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftI am aware of this anxiety and I am watching the position closely in consultation with the industry. I am not satisfied, however, that at present these imports seriously threaten employment in the industry.
§ Lieut.-Colonel SchofieldIs my right hon. Friend aware that imports from India are already 10 times greater than they were last year, that the United Kingdom imports from India are more than one-seventh of India's total exports of cotton goods, that imports from India are rising month by month, and that the people of Lancashire are getting rather tired of seeing imports coming in from India duty free when they themselves face duties of 70 to 80 per cent. upon cotton goods imported into India?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftIt is a wide and important question, but I will certainly bear in mind the considerations mentioned by my hon. and gallant Friend.
§ Mr. UsborneWill the right hon. Gentleman also bear in mind the point of view which housewives and other consumers in Birmingham might have upon the subject when they are able to discover 1972 that some of the articles which they want to buy are slightly cheaper as a result of these imports?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftThey are all relevant considerations.