Dunlop Company Limited (Canadian Factory)

HC Deb 29 April 1970 vol 800 cc1241-2

25. Mr. Newens

asked the President of the Board of Trade what effects the decision of the Dunlop Company Limited to close its factory in Ontario, Canada, will have on Anglo-Canadian trade.

Mr. Mason

I do not expect any significant effects.

Mr. Newens

Will my right hon. Friend say whether his Department was informed of the proposal to close the factory at Toronto, where it has understandably provoked a storm of protest? What powers has he to prevent the transfer of operations and markets from British factories to foreign subsidiaries, following the Dunlop-Pirelli merger?

Mr. Mason

The Canadian company discussed this with the Canadian authorities but there was no necessity to do so with my Department. This decision has nothing whatever to do with the Dunlop-Pirelli merger. I gather that the Canadian company took this decision because, with increasing competition from Europe and Japan and increasing costs at home, it could not ensure long-term viability.