§ 1. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action his Department is taking to initiate bilateral quota agreements to restrict the importing of agricultural products.
§ The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Fred Peart)We have quotas on certain agricultural and horticultural imports, but I have no current plans to introduce quotas for other items.
§ Mr. RobertsWould not my right hon. Friend agree, however, that the extension of bilateral quota agreements could prevent the importation of commodities already produced here and that this would greatly help the planned expansion of home food production?
§ Mr. PeartAs a general principle, we have always adhered to a multilateral conception and we still think this the right course. We do have quotas for apples and pears—although these are not bilateral—and for main crop potatoes and hops and for butter, for example; but the general principle is multilateral trade.