§ 35. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the President of the Board of Trade who are the members of the Council of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; what is the extent of the increase of the Secretariat agreed to at Geneva by the contracting parties thereto; and what additional contribution is to be paid by the United Kingdom as a result of decisions made at this Geneva meeting.
§ Mr. ErrollAs there are twenty-nine members of the Council, I will, with permission, circulate the list of names in the OFFICIAL REPORT. The Contracting Parties to the General Agreement have approved in principle that the Secretariat should be enlarged but they have not yet examined precise proposals on this subject or decided what additional contributions individual countries should be invited to make.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonIs this a case of Parkinson's international law? Is my right hon. Friend aware that many people think this organisation has done enough harm already to British and Commonwealth trade?
§ Mr. ErrollI am aware of the sincerely held views of my hon. Friend. I do not think this is a case of an international application of Parkinson's Law. I explained to my hon. Friend, in reply to a Question which was answered on 15th July, why it was decided to set up the Council. I think those were good reasons.
§ Following is the information:
| LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL SET UP BY THE CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE | |
| Australia | Israel |
| Austria | Italy |
| Belgium | Japan |
| Brazil | Luxembourg |
| Canada | The Netherlands |
| Chile | New Zealand |
| Cuba | Norway |
| Czechoslovakia | Pakistan |
| Denmark | Sweden |
| Finland | Switzerland |
| France | The Union of South Africa |
| The Federal Republic of Germany | The United Kingdom |
| Ghana | The United States |
| Greece | Uruguay |
| India |
§ The Commission of the European Economic Community is invited to participate in the work of the Council.