HC Deb 08 April 1975 vol 889 cc404-5W
Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what is his estimate, on the basis of the figures most recently available, of the effect of the loss of production resulting from the three-day week and from industrial disputes in 1974 on the visible trade balance for that year, giving separate figures for trade with Community and non-Community countries.

Mr. Clinton Davis:

Our trade is influenced by many factors—for example, overseas demand for the type of goods which we export, the state of the United Kingdom domestic economy, changes in currency rates, movements in world commodity prices and relative rates of inflation here and abroad—and it is not possible to isolate the effects of the three-day week or industrial disputes.