HC Deb 28 January 1970 vol 794 cc1542-3
28. Mr. Arthur Davidson

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is satisfied with the effectiveness of the anti-dumping laws, with particular respect to cotton textiles; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody

Yes, Sir. As my hon. Friend will recall, the antidumping legislation was strengthened by the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Amendment Act, 1968. Since 1957, six applications have been made in respect of cotton textiles. One was not accepted for full investigation: two were withdrawn: two were rejected. Antidumping action was taken in the remaining case.

Mr. Davidson

Is my hon. Friend aware that her Answer will give great satisfaction to people in Lancashire who will be pleased to note that the dumping laws appear to be reasonably satisfactory? Can she say how the numbers compare with the numbers of complaints before the new legislation?

Mrs. Dunwoody

I cannot give that information offhand, but it is interesting that in some cases, when the application was not proceeded with, nevertheless an alteration was made by the exporting country which brought it into line with what we had asked for.

Mr. Blaker

Surely the legislation to which the hon. Lady refers was the result of an international agreement in 1967 at the end of the Kennedy Round, which was the culmination of negotiations instituted under the preceding Government?

Mrs. Dunwoody

The legislation is very helpful. I do not think that we should argue about why it was enacted. We did it; the Opposition did not.