§ 4 Mr. Gardnerasked the President of the Board of Trade what consultations he has had with other members of the European Free Trade Association regarding the control of textile imports from Portugal.
§ Mr. GardnerIs my hon. Friend aware of the very considerable concern in the hosiery and knitwear industries in the East Midlands about the increasing rate of Portuguese imports, particularly in view of the very low wages paid in the Portuguese industry? Will he not discuss the matter either with our friends in E.F.T.A. or directly with the Portuguese Government?
§ Mr. MallalieuThe only machinery for discussing the matter with our friends in E.F.T.A. is under Article 20. The criteria laid down there are extremely stringent, and no one has yet thought it worthwhile to raise them. In the case of the hosiery and knitwear industry, the percentage of imports is small compared with total production.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinBut does not the textile industry have legitimate ground for complaint, in that the Government promised legislation to implement the anti-dumping procedures agreed in the Kennedy Round? When will we see this?
§ Mr. MallalieuI understand that that Bill will be before the House shortly.
§ Mr. MappDoes my hon. Friend appreciate that important trading inter- 372 ests all across the E.F.T.A. countries feel strongly that there are inbuilt subsidies in these imports into this and other countries, due probably to the supply of raw materials from Africa and a hidden subsidy in Portugal? Is it not about time we looked at this with a very fine tooth comb?
§ Mr. MallalieuI know that that belief is fairly widely shared with or without my hon. Friend's mixed metaphor—but, although we have made all the investigations which we possibly can, we can find no proof.