HC Deb 15 April 1965 vol 710 cc1652-5
38. Sir R. Russell

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek further amendment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade so as to revise the No New Preference rule, in view of the violations of this rule which have occurred in recent months.

Mr. Jay

Proposals for amending the G.A.T.T. to permit preferential reductions of duties for the benefit of developing countries are already under consideration in the G.A.T.T. and have the support of Her Majesty's Government.

Sir R. Russell

I appreciate that point, but would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that it would now be a great advantage if this rule could be revised altogether, not only in the interests of developing countries, but in the interests of all countries, particularly in view of any possible attempts to get greater economic co-operation between Britain and Europe?

Mr. Jay

What is clear is that if breaches are to be made by other countries in these arrangements we cannot be expected rigidly to observe them. What is not so clear, however, is that it would be in the interests of this country that the present arrangements should break down.

Mr. Dell

Will my right hon. Friend say whether the amendments now under consideration in G.A.T.T. refer to generalising preferential areas so that all developed countries offer preferences to all developing countries, or whether the idea is to split the developing countries so that, for example, the United States can give preference to Latin America?

Mr. Jay

The former. The object of these discussions is that all developed countries should give preferences to less affluent and developing countries.

39. Sir R. Russell

asked the President of the Board of Trade when Part IV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade will come into operation; to which commodities it will apply; and what will be the effect on Commonwealth countries of applying it to underdeveloped foreign countries.

36. Mr. Biggs-Davison

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the new Part IV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has now come into effect; which contracting parties have, and which have not, accepted it; to what extent it is already being applied by the United Kingdom and other signatories; and what further modifications of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade are contemplated.

Mr. Jay

The new Part IV of the General Agreement will become effective when it has been accepted by two-thirds of the Contracting Parties. I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT lists of those Governments who have, or have not yet, accepted it, according to our latest information. Meanwhile, it is being implemented de facto by the United Kingdom and by many other Governments who assented to the Declaration which is included in the White Paper. Certain provisions define the goods to which they apply, for example, products of particular export interest to less-developed countries. The application of Part IV should benefit the trade of Commonwealth as well as non-Commonwealth less-developed countries. A working group of the new G.A.T.T. Committee on Trade and Development will he examining some specific proposals for further amendments to the General Agreement, particularly affecting Articles XVIII and XXIII.

Sir R. Russell

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that answer. How near are we to the two-thirds majority he mentioned?

Mr. Jay

We are not far away. I hope that it will not be too long before that result is achieved.

Following are the lists:

A. The following Governments have signed the Protocol without reservation:

Cameroon. New Zealand.
Canada. Nigeria.
Central African Republic. Rhodesia.
Trinidad and Tobago.
Ceylon. †Tunisia.
Gambia. Turkey.
India. Uganda.
Jamaica. †United Arab Republic.
Kenya.
Malawi. United States.
Mauritania. †Yugoslavia.

B. The following Governments have signed the protocol subject to ratification or ad referendum:

†Argentina. Italy.
Belgium. Luxembourg.
Brazil. Madagascar.
Chile. Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Finland.
Federal Republic of Germany. Niger.
Norway.
Greece. Peru.
Israel. Upper Volta.

C. The following Governments have not yet signed the Protocol.

Australia. *Ivory Coast.
*Austria. *Japan.
Burma. Kuwait.
Burundi. Malaysia.
Chad. Malta.
Congo (Brazzaville). Nicaragua.
*Cuba. *Pakistan.
Cyprus. *Portugal.
Czechoslovakia. Senegal.
*Dahomey. *Sierra Leone.
*Denmark. South Africa.
*Dominican Republic. *Spain.
France. *Sweden.
Gabon. *†Switzerland.
*Ghana. Tanzania.
Haiti. Togo.
†Iceland. *United Kingdom.
*Indonesia. *Uruguay.

D. The Declaration on the de facto implementation of the provisions of the Protocol has been assented to by all the Governments in lists A and B (except Gambia and Malawi), as well as those marked with an asterisk in list C.

N.B. The Governments marked † have only provisionally acceded to the G.A.T.T.