HC Deb 16 March 1981 vol 1 cc9-10
9. Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what particular benefits he hopes to achieve from the United Kingdom Presidency of the EEC Council of Trade Ministers.

Mr. Biffen

It is too early to go into details of specific objectives, but I will have the interests of British trade and commerce well in mind when pursuing the Government's general objective of contributing to the development of practical and constructive policies in the Community.

Mr. Carlisle

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Will he do his best to make progress to enable our successful insurance industry to compete on equal terms on the Continent? Although trade has to be fair for our visible trade, is he aware that that is still not so for invisible trade?

Mr. Biffen

I am sure that the development of the European Community in respect of insurance, in sympathy with the objectives of the Treaty of Rome, would be widely welcomed in this country. My right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I will bear that in mind.

Mr. Hardy

Can we expect British trading interests to be more greatly protected than they appear to be? Last year we imported 169,870 electric dry irons from East Germany at a United Kingdom landed price of £1.70. How many jobs in British manufacturing and in the British steel industry does that sort of unfair competition sacrifice?

Mr. Biffen

That point relates to the external trade policies of the European Community. If the hon. Gentleman would like to draw the attention of the anti-dumping unit of the British Government to that phenomenon, we shall consider it.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Will my right hon. Friend be careful to ensure that the European Community does not restrict imports too much from the under-developed world, because to take the manufactures of those countries is better than to give them aid?

Mr. Biffen

As a broad proposition, one would wish to see a liberal trading Community rather than a protectionist Community. The operation of the common agricultural policy shows us the dangers of being protectionist. However, there are a number of industries, of which textiles is one, where we want to balance many interests in the conclusion of policy.

Mr. John Smith

What is the Government's objective in the negotiations between the EEC and the United States for the protection of British textiles from unfair American competion based on cheap energy? Is he aware that he has placed a great deal of reliance on EEC action to protect the British industry? What action does he want it to take?

Mr. Biffen

We support the representations made by the European Community, through the Commission, to the United States Government with a view to securing action in respect of natural gas. However, we shall have to see how those negotiations proceed. I remind the right hon. Gentleman—and it should be well understood in the Chamber—that, at the end of the day, we are not sovereign in these matters.