§ Mr. Dalyellasked the President of the Board of Trade what study he has made from the trade returns of all those imports which rise sharply when production rises; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DarlingRegular studies are made of the behaviour of imports in relation to the home economy, using methods of analysis broadly as described on page X of the article "Short-term economic forecasting in the United Kingdom" in the August, 1964, issue of Economic Trends. I have always emphasised that we must expect imports to increase with the growth of the home economy. This is the experience of all modern industrial countries. It underlies the need for increasing exports, signs of our success in which have been appearing in recent figures.
§ Mr. Biffenasked the President of the Board of Trade when the next regular annual review of the statistical classification for imported goods will take place; and by what means Parliament will be informed of any changes.
§ Mr. DarlingThe 1967 edition of the Statistical Classification for Imported Goods and for Re-exported Goods has just been published and a copy has been placed in the House of Commons214W Library. Changes in headings compared with those in the 1966 edition are indicated by an asterisk. The Classification is reviewed each year; the next review will be completed in the course of 1967 for use in recording trade statistics from 1st January, 1968.