§ 15. Mr. Archerasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the balance of trade in regard of manufactured goods for the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ParkinsonIn the five months ended May 1983 the balance of trade of manufactured goods was in defecit by £174 billion. Growth of imports is evidence of increased industrial activity and rising consumer demand at home, both of which offer increased opportunities to British industry.
§ Mr. ArcherWill the right hon. Gentleman now accept that the deficit on manufactured goods is not, as suggested by his predecessor, the result of a freak month, but has become a confirmed part of the economy? In view of the debate on the Gracious Speech, and his own distinctly less gracious speech in the debate, is he now prepared to admit that the signals of an improving future that were scattered about during the election campaign were a flagrant con, and that without the cover up of North sea oil the appalling decline of the past five years could have reached disaster proportions?
§ Mr. ParkinsonI do not accept what the right hon. and learned Gentleman says. I know that he bitterly regrets having to admit it, but if he applies any test, whether of growth of GDP or of industrial production, he will see that there is growth in the British economy. The sooner that he and his friends reconcile themselves to this, the better. Now he says that a deficit in manufactures must be evidence that there is not growth, and I find that particularly convoluted logic.
Two points must be made. First, every day of the week, Saturdays and Sundays included, £120 million of manufactured goods leave this country for overseas markets. That is a substantial achievement, and upon it millions of jobs depend. Secondly, the imports of manufactures, if they prove anything, are evidence that there is no lack of demand in the British economy, which is what the Labour party argued when it said that it would inject another £12,000 million into the economy. The demand is there: it is up to British companies to meet it.
§ Mr. GryllsWill my right hon. Friend, in his new office, use every endeavour to battle against and beat down the non-tariff barriers that are, alas, still evident in the European Community, as he knows, because this is a deterrent to small and medium-sized firms taking full advantage of the Community?
§ Mr. ParkinsonI agree, and this is a continuing war of attrition, but one worth fighting. The removal of the barriers will make trade within the Community easier, and the Community is our most important market.