HC Deb 28 January 1970 vol 794 cc1540-1
25. Mrs. Renée Short

asked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the expansion in trade between Great Britain and the German Democratic Republic under the three-year agreement recently negotiated.

Mr. Mason

I hope that trade will continue to grow, but quantitative estimates are not possible.

Mrs. Short

That is not a very enthusiastic Answer. The C.B.I. and the London Chamber are sending trade delegations to the German Democratic Republic in the very near future. Does my right hon. Friend think that there will be an increase in trade as a result of this activity? Cannot he say what he hopes to achieve at the end of the year?

Mr. Mason

Roughly. Our provisional figures for 1969 are that exports to East Germany totalled £12.1 million and imports £14.6 million. But we expect that in 1970 our exports will be substantially higher and we hope to exceed our record of £15.9 million which we established in 1966.