§ 18. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the President of the Board of Trade what are the personnel and programme of the Working Party set up to examine whether the Convention establishing the European Free Trade Association conforms with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and what is his estimate of the bearing this examination will have on Scottish trade and industry.
§ Mr. MaudlingThe Working Party made a report on the Stockholm Convention to the Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade who have agreed to put the subject on the agenda for their next Session, due to begin on 31st October. The countries represented on the Working Party were Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. This G.A.T.T. examination is not concerned with the particular matters to which the hon. and learned Member refers. I have no doubt that Scottish trade and industry will benefit from our membership of the E.F.T.A.
§ Mr. HughesDoes the President realise that the last part of his Answer is quite inadequate? Can he say whether this Convention will in any way improve Scottish trade and industry, which already is suffering from Government's policy and the breaking of Government promises made at the last General Election? Is not it time that the Government carried out some of those promises to bring trade and industry to north-east Scotland?
§ Mr. MaudlingI have a little difficulty in detecting any connection between the supplementary question and the hon. and learned Gentleman's original Question, 663 but in our view the general effect of the Outer Seven agreement, as we might call it, will be beneficial to Scottish trade.
§ Mr. WillisNot on the shale oil industry.