§ Mr. Bishopasked the Minister of Technology what was the value of British imports of American aircraft and aerospace products in the first 10 months of this year, or to a convenient date, compared with our exports to the United States of America in the same period; and what action is being taken to increase our exports.
§ Mr. Stonehouse:Up to October this year we imported £64,541,000 of aircraft, engines, guided weapons and spare parts from the U.S.A. Our corresponding exports to the U.S.A. over the same period were £37,645,000. The export prospects of the aerospace industry should be anhanced as a consequence of devaluation. The Government is assisting the activities of United Kingdom manufacturers in the American market through commercial channels and other contacts with the United States Administration, and we are in close touch with our firms about export opportunities. We are pursuing the arrangements under which the United States Government has undertaken to offset the dollar costs of our purchases of military equipment. More generally, a Procurement Committee has been established under the British National Export Council and the C.B.I. with the object of securing orders within the aerospace and avionics fields.