§ 7. Mr. Martenasked the President of the Board of Trade what representations the Government have received this year from Norway about the import surcharge; what replies have been sent; and what has been the effect of the surcharge on trade between Great Britain and Norway.
§ Mr. JayThe Norwegian Minister of Trade raised this question with me in the course of discussions held in February and April, when I reassured him about the temporary nature of the charge. Since then my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that it will lapse at the end of November. Our imports from Norway have continued to rise since the charge was imposed.
§ Mr. MartenIs not one of the side-effects of the imposition of a surcharge to stimulate intra-Scandinavian trade between Norway, Denmark and Sweden, at the expense of British trade with Scandinavia?
§ Mr. JayI see no sign of that on the figures. Our trade with each Scandinavian country has continued to increase.
§ Mr. BarberDoes not the right hon. Gentleman agree that one consequence of the prior announcement of the ending of the surcharge to which he has referred will be artificially to reduce the level of imports for the period between now and the autumn, and in the period immediately thereafter to cause a flood of imports?
§ Mr. JayThat also applied to the reduction we made a year ago, but it turned out not to have a very substantial effect.