Taiwan (Hansard, 9 February 1976)

§ 19. Mr. Hordern
asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will now permit the issue of licences for all imports from Taiwan, affected by the recent restrictions, which were covered by irrevocable letters of credit issued before the restrictions were announced.

§ Mr. Deakins
No, Sir. Notices to Importers 1522 and 1534, published in Trade and Industry of 21st November 1975 and 16th January 1976, respectively, have already made it clear that licences will not be issued where 1976 quota levels have been exhausted.

§ Mr. Hordern
Is it not wrong that irrevocable letters of credit produced before these import restrictions were placed should not be allowed to continue? Do the Government recognise that considerable damage has been caused to our trade and our trade relations because of the effect on individual firms with longstanding arrangements with foreign suppliers?

§ Mr. Deakins
Whenever we impose import restrictions it causes disruption in trade, in terms of established relationships between international traders in the way that the hon. Gentleman suggests. I would not expect goods, either in transit from Taiwan or on the dockside here paid for under irrevocable letters of credit and falling within quota headings where quotas for 1975 and 1976 have been exhausted, to be admitted until 1977. I realise that these restrictions will cause a certain inconvenience and, possibly, some financial embarrassment and loss to certain importers, but against that we must consider the wider needs of the British textile industry.

§ Mr. James Lamond
Does the Minister realise that his answer will give some satisfaction to the textile industry when it is realised that the practice of irrevocable letters of credit, together with the building up of imports prior to restrictions being imposed, should not be encouraged and should be eliminated for the future?

§ Mr. Deakins
I am grateful for my hon. Friend's comments. The difficulty that arose in respect of goods from Taiwan was exceptional, because restrictions were not negotiated and imposed until almost two-thirds of the way through the year to which they were due to relate. Since there was an untoward increase in imports from Taiwan in the first eight-month period, it left nothing at all for the rest of 1975 or 1976.