§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list in tabular form and compare the type of aid national Governments grant to their domestic shipbuilding industries in the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantI regret that it is not possible to make a meaningful comparison in the form requested. In addition to receiving direct assistance, shipbuilders may benefit, for example, from assistance given to shipowners or from general measures of industrial or regional policy. It is not practicable to isolate and evaluate the effect of such measures for the purpose of international comparisons. Descriptive surveys of some forms of assistance are, however, contained in the report "British Shipbuilding 1972" and in the OECD publication "Measures of Assistance to Shipbuilding". I am sending copies to my hon. Friend.
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§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether an oil rig is a ship for the purposes of the draft directive proposed by the Commission on assistance granted by member States to shipbuilders.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantI am not in a position to comment on the Commission's proposal, which has not yet been submitted to the member countries