§ 7. Mrs. Renee Shortasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is satisfied with the ability of official British agents abroad to act in the promotion of exports of engineering products; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody)Yes. They are expected to be knowledgeable about local market conditions. It is for firms to provide technical information about their products.
§ Mrs. ShortHas my hon. Friend's attention been drawn to the little Neddy Report, which was produced after its conference at the beginning of November, which drew attention to the lack of facilities and organisation of our embassies abroad to deal with exports, particularly of certain engineering projects? As these are an important part of our export drive, does not my hon. Friend think that her attitude is a little complacent. and that something ought to be done about our representation abroad?
§ Mrs. DunwoodyI am sure my hon. Friend will accept that engineering products fall into about 1,600 different categories, and that it would be extremely difficult for any commercial officer abroad to have detailed knowledge of every individual branch. What I am sure will produce good results is if the firms themselves brief embassy personnel adequately, before they go on missions, with the right sort of technical information about their products.