§ Mrs. Kellett-Bowmanasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in imposing a ban on cheap imported footwear from Common Market countries, he will in future act as soon as prima facie evidence of dumping is produced and place the onus of disproving dumping on the exporter.
§ Sir G. HoweImports from the Community are not being restricted. In conformity with the Customs Duties (Dumping Subsidies) Act, 1969, and the international code, definitive anti-dumping duties are imposed only after full investigation.188W When circumstances warrant it, the Department already imposes provisional charges at the prima facie stage.
Mrs. Ren£e Shortasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many pairs of footwear for men and women were imported from Italy, France, West Germany, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Hong Kong, respectively, during each year from 1969 to 1971 and what are the comparable figures for the first half of 1972.
§ Sir G. HoweFollowing is the information:
UNTTFD KINGDOM IMPORTS OF FOOTWEAR* Million pairs 1969 1970 1971 1st half 1972 Italy 5.5 6.7 10.1 7.6 France 1.7 2.3 3.6 1.9 West Germany 1.3 0.7 0.4 0.2 Romania 0.8 0.9 1.3 0.6 Poland 1.3 1.9 2.5 1.9 Hungary 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 Hong Kong 35.3 35.0 38.3 21.2 *Division 85 of the Standard International Trade Classification (Revised) less heading 851.05—Gaiters, spats, leggings etc.; men's and women's footwear are not consistently distinguished in the import statistics.