§ 7. Mr. Boardmanasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether any approaches have been made by his Department to the importers of textiles with a view to reducing the quantity.
§ Mr. DeakinsDiscussions which officials of my Department and the Department of Industry have had with leading retailers and manufacturers have explored the possibilities of their buying more of their textile requirements from United Kingdom sources.
§ Mr. BoardmanIn view of the nonsense which is being talked about the dumping of textiles, will my hon. Friend make it perfectly clear that these textiles have been bought by people in this country before they leave the country of origin? If, for legislative reasons, it is not possible to limit the imports now, surely my hon. Friend could speak with some force to the people who are exploiting the situation and consequently killing off our own textile industry.
§ Mr. DeakinsI am well aware of the force of the sentiments expressed by my hon. Friend and other hon. Members. The discussions were held to discover whether any possibilities were left unexploited in terms of the purchase of United Kingdom textiles as distinct from imported textiles, and to make sure that manufacturers and retailers were exerting themselves positively. Although I cannot give a quantitative estimate of the results of the discussions, I can say that the reactions of the retailers and distributors were constructive and can only have been helpful.
§ Mr. Fletcher-CookeDid the hon. Gentleman point out to these gentlemen that the Government themselves were to change their bad habits in the matter and that the Defence and Health Departments were to buy more British textiles than in the past?
§ Mr. DeakinsThere was a reference to Government and other public purchasing in the statement on 23rd July by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry.
§ Mr. CryerCan my hon. Friend explain what has happened to the only anti-dumping application about textiles so far? This is the application by the West Riding textile spinners and was apparently made in November last year. My hon. Friend may recall that on several occasions Ministers have said that urgent, immediate action would be taken if evidence were presented. Evidence has been presented, and I wonder on what urgent, immediate action the Government are about to embark.
§ Mr. DeakinsI must make one thing clear: there is no formal anti-dumping application in respect of the worsted spinners' federation of the West Riding. Such an application was made and dismissed a long time ago. More recently the federation has complained to the EEC, although not in the form of a formal anti-dumping application, about the imports of acrylic yarn from South Korea and Taiwan. This complaint has now been overtaken by discussions between the EEC and those countries—and some of them have already been successfully concluded—about voluntary restraint, which will certainly help that industry.
§ Mr. ShersbyCan the Minister say what rates, if any, will be applied to Portuguese imports?
§ Mr. DeakinsAn announcement was made recently in a parliamentary answer—I shall see that the hon. Gentleman gets a copy—to say that we are to reimpose import duties on Portuguese textiles. I shall let the hon. Member have full details.