§ 20. Mr. Rhodesasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table of figures showing British exports to the sterling area, excluding sterling area countries in Western Europe, Western Europe as a whole, European Free Trade Association countries and the European Economic Community, respectively, over the past 10 years expressed both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total British exports.
§ 21. Mr. Rhodesasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table of figures showing the value in 1969, or the latest convenient year, and the growth over the past 10 years of exports of the countries of the European Economic Community, from information available from inter-
EXPORTS TO: Commonwealth excluding United Kingdom E.F.T.A. excluding United Kingdom United States of America From— 1968 (U.S. $m.f.o.b.) Percentage increase 1958–68 1968 (U.S. $m.f.o.b.) Percentage increase 1958–68 1968 (U.S. $m.f.o.b.) Percentage increase 1958–68 Belgium/Luxembourg 237 47 560 69 770 169 France 455 123 1,248 169 765 152 German Federal Republic 1,178 65 4,865 122 2,707 321 Italy 502 187 1061 176 1,089 343 Netherlands 320 56 759 66 436 141 All E.E.C. countries 2,692 84 8,493 122 5,768 247 United Kingdom 3,458 —1 2,134 109 2,196 145
§ 44. Mr. James Johnsonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is satisfied that the recent trend in British trade accords with Her Majesty's Government's commercial policies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MasonYes. Over the last 5 years our exports have increased by over 60 per cent. from £4,565 million in 1964 to £7,338 million in 1969, and we have transformed a visible trade deficit of more than £530 million into a surplus provisionally estimated at about £130 million in 1969. I am satisfied that this impressive performance is a vindication of the liberal commercial policies which we have been following.