§ 3. Mr. Blakerasked the Secretary of State for Trade what proportion of the line of credit offered to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics by the Government in 1975 has now been taken up.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Trade (Mr. Michael Meacher)The total value of contracts placed under the Anglo-Soviet Credit Agreement is now £441 million. This represents approximately 46 per cent. of the £950 million.
§ Mr. BlakerIs the Minister aware of the concern in the chemical industry that this and other lines of credit offered by Western countries are being used to finance the setting up in the Soviet Union of chemical factories on the basis that they will be paid off by selling their products back to the West at prices which no doubt will be politically fixed? Does he not think that this is an undesirable practice? Will the Government take a lead in the EEC and OECD to work out guidelines for the Western countries to limit this practice?
§ Mr. MeacherBuy-back arrangements are increasingly an aspect of trade, particularly with Eastern bloc countries, but they are not confined to them. It is for the commercial judgment of individual companies to decide whether to enter into contracts with the USSR and other COMECON countries when considering all the conditions that are attached to these contracts.