§ 59. Mr. Fallonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what trade agreements are currently being negotiated between the European Community and third countries.
§ Mr. RifkindApart from sectoral arrangements in textiles and steel, the only agreement covering trade currently being negotiated is the successor to the second Lomé convention, between the Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
§ Mr. FallonAs such trade agreements increasingly embrace the so-called voluntary restraints on imports into this country, thus allowing the Community effectively to enforce a cartel against its own citizens, will my hon. Friend reassure me that someone in his Department is representing the interests of the British consumer?
§ Mr. RifkindNaturally, we take into account the interests of consumers, as well as the implications for employment in the United Kingdom, when agreements of this kind are negotiated. That will remain one of the important objectives of any agreement of this kind.
§ Mr. LeightonThe Foreign Secretary said that he wants to make decisive progress in March. Does the Minister know of any occasion, at any of the summits that have ever been held, when Britain has ever made decisive progress, and does he draw any moral from that?
§ Mr. RifkindI am not certain whether that matter arises out of this question, but the hon. Gentleman should be aware of the very substantial achievements that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already obtained for the United Kingdom, both in the refunds that have been paid to us and in the fact that at the moment the Community is seeking a solution based on an agenda which, to a substantial extent, coincides with the objectives that the United Kingdom has always identified as the main problems that have existed within the Community.