HC Deb 16 February 1981 vol 999 cc2-3
2. Mr. Knox

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the surplus or deficit on visible trade with the European Economic Community in January; and how this compared with the position in January 1980.

The Minister for Trade (Mr. Cecil Parkinson)

The figures for January of this year will be published at 3.30 pm today. Since the beginning of 1980, our trade with the European Community has moved from deficit into surplus.

Mr. Knox

Will my hon. Friend confirm that he expects a healthy improvement in the figures for January 1981 compared with those for January 1980? Will he say by how much exports to our EEC partners have risen since we joined the Community in 1973?

Mr. Parkinson

I cannot anticipate what the figures to be announced at 3.30 pm will reveal. I can, however, confirm, as my hon. Friend states, that since 1970 our trade with the Community has grown from only 30 per cent. to 40 per cent. of our total trade.

Mr. Leighton

Is not this rise explained my the increase in our oil exports last year from £1.6 billion to £2.7 billion? Is it not also the case that, due to the recession, we are not importing so much—in other words, that unemployment is working as an effective import control, and that the underlying imbalance in our trade in manufactures has not been affected?

Mr. Parkinson

The imbalance in our trade in manufactures has been affected. It has been reduced considerably. Last year our exports accounted for 90 per cent. of our imports, as opposed to only 84 per cent. a year previously. Our trade in oil has increased. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not try to pretend that we should exclude this figure from our balance of payments figures. We are constantly told the hardening of the pound, based on oil, has affected our exports of other items. I hope that, if the hon. Gentleman wishes to make on adjustment for oil, he will also try to make an adjustment to reflect that fact.

Mr. Teddy Taylor

Does the Minister recall telling me recently that our deficit in manufactures trade with the EEC in 1980 was about £5 million a day? Is he willing to enter into consultations and to undertake a study with his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment to find out the impact on jobs of a deficit of £5 million a day in manufactures trade?

Mr. Parkinson

My hon. Friend is right about that figure. However, he should accept, as I am sure that he does, that it represents a reduction of about £2 million a day on the figures of the year before. He should be careful about arguing that if we have a surplus with an area or country that is proof that something is wrong. There are a substantial number of areas in which we run surpluses.

Mr. John Fraser

If oil exports to the EEC are now running at about £3,000 million a year, does not that cause the Minister of State some concern about the imbalance of manufactures? To what extent is the present value of the pound responsible for this imbalance?

Mr. Parkinson

The hon. Gentleman probably was not listening. I explained to him that in 1979 our exports of manufactures, excluding oil, were about 84 per cent. of our imports. Last year that figure was 90 per cent. There is an improvement in our exports of manufactures excluding oil.