HC Deb 12 January 1994 vol 235 cc172-4
12. Mr. Dykes

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the GATT agreement concluded last month within the Uruguay round.

Mr. Heseltine

The conclusion of the GATT negotiations on 15 December is a large step towards more free and open international trade. It will bring more trade within GATT and strengthen the GATT rules. This will mean improved economic efficiency, increased growth, more jobs and lower prices, as well as wider choice for consumers.

Mr. Dykes

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. If he has not done so already, will he send Commissioner Leon Brittan warm congratulations on the work that he did during the negotiations, on behalf of the entire Community? Incidentally, he also defended European media culture—television, films, theatre and art —from a wall-to-wall invasion by dubious American material, but received little credit in the British press.

Will my right hon. Friend note another agreeable development? Having tussled with each other, Leon Brittan and Trade Commissioner Kantor are now working together to get the Japanese to open up their markets. Is my right hon. Friend confident that the Japanese will co-operate on this occasion?

Mr. Heseltine

I assure my hon. Friend that I have conveyed warm good wishes to Commissioner Brittan. I share my hon. Friend's view of his work.

I was in Tokyo on Monday and had extensive conversations with senior Ministers in the Japanese Government. I believe that they welcome the GATT round as much as we do, and that they are working to introduce changes—involving access to services and to their domestic markets—of which Britain is now well placed to take advantage.

Mr. Grocott

Has the Secretary of State had an opportunity to discuss with his French counterpart the importance attached by the French to the protection and preservation of their film and television industry? Will he reflect on the fact that in this country, under his stewardship and that of his predecessor, the balance of trade in television production has moved from surplus to deficit in the space of some seven years? Moreover, the proportion of British television programmes made and produced in this country has declined dramatically, especially since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990. When will the right hon. Gentleman start doing as much for television and films in this country as his French counterpart does in France?

Mr. Heseltine

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that those industries are not directly sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry. I am sure, however, that he will welcome the wide-ranging reviews already announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage as much as I do.

Mrs. Peacock

We all welcome the signing of the GATT agreement. Is my right hon. Friend aware, however, of the great concern in our wool, textile and clothing industries about the lack of agreement on tariffs? He will know of the huge amount that must be paid for many of our goods to enter other countries; is he aware that if the matter is not resolved quickly and satisfactorily many jobs may be under threat?

Mr. Heseltine

I share my hon. Friend's concern for the textile industries. The round will include a reduction in tariffs in the United Kingdom's main market for textiles. For example, American textile tariffs will be reduced by an average of 27 per cent.

Mr. Bell

The House will welcome the fact that the President of the Board of Trade went to Japan and spoke to Japanese Ministers. It is very important for the Japanese to open their markets to a greater extent than they have done in the past few years.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that although the Uruguay accords represent a highway to greater trade liberalisation, they constitute only one stage of the process? The creation of the World Trade Organisation will be extremely important, but is the right hon. Gentleman not a little concerned that the ambitious programme that the organisation is setting itself may turn this highway to trade liberalisation into a bureaucratic nightmare?

Mr. Heseltine

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the kind remarks with which he prefaced his question. I believe that it is generally recognised that the establishment of the WTO in the GATT round is potentially a major step forward in the policing, monitoring and facilitation of the GATT agreement. I think it wrong at this early stage to anticipate its deterioration into a "bureaucratic nightmare". Let us hope that it will be able to do its job effectively and efficiently.

Mr. Waller

Does my right hon. Friend accept that at the end of the 10-year period to come, the United States will still be erecting barriers to our exports of textiles and clothing which will be very much higher than the barriers to its exports to the European Union? In the negotiations about the details of the GATT agreement that will take place in the coming months, will my right hon. Friend urge Sir Leon Brittan and his colleagues to press for genuinely free trade?

Mr. Heseltine

My hon. Friend will know that it is the Government's policy, wherever possible, to do precisely that. However, I must be realistic and say that a complex and time-consuming round has now been virtually concluded and it would be unrealistic to think that there will be a major change in the structure of that round in the next year or so while details are being finalised and explored. We all hope that this round is the precursor to the next round where the issues will again be visited and, we hope, more satisfactorily resolved.