§ 1. Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade what reaction he has received from the United States Government following his announced intention to seek to renegotiate the Bermuda Agreement covering relations between the two countries on aviation matters.
§ 28. Mr. Tebbitasked the Secretary of State for Trade what are his objectives in renegotiating the Bermuda Agreement.
§ The Secretary of State for Trade (Mr. Edmund Dell)I have not yet received any formal reaction from the United States authorities.
2 Our objectives in the renegotiation were summarised in the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thornaby (Mr. Wrigglesworth) on 23rd June.
§ Mr. AdleyI thank the Minister for that reply. Does he agree that, in view of the importance of the Bermuda Agreement as an international model, fairness dictates that, if there is a need to control capacity on the North Atlantic between Britain and America, this should be done on a fifty-fifty basis between the two nations and not split between the carriers which happen to have traffic rights on that route? Is there not a need for a thoroughgoing review of the fifth freedom rights of American carriers operating wholly within Europe?
§ Mr. DellI agree with the hon. Gentleman about the fifth freedom carrier rights. The objective is to improve the relative position of British airlines, not merely on the North Atlantic but elsewhere in the world, in regard to our relations with the United States. This is what we hope to achieve through the renegotiations. I hope that we shall not be pressed too far on detailed objectives at this stage. We are entering serious negotiations and it is important that these should be successful.
§ Mr. TebbitWill the Secretary of State say, first, why he chose this moment to renegotiate? Secondly, will he say whether he received any representations from other British airlines, or from 3 Cathay Pacific or the Government of Hong Kong, which caused him to choose this time?
In case the Secretary of State thinks that I am being rather critical or implying criticism, I point out that we certainly would not criticise the objectives that the Secretary of State has laid out in his renegotiations.
§ Mr. DellNo such representations influenced the choice of time. This was due simply to the fact that we cannot allow this total inequality in benefit from the current agreement to persist; therefore, it appeared right that we should get ahead with the renegotiation as soon as possible.