§ Mr. Shersbyasked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps he is taking to improve trade with Finland.
§ Mr. DeakinsLast November my right hon. Friend received an important trade mission of senior Finnish industrialists and officials in London. The resulting trade opportunities continue to be followed up by the official services. In January this year he visited Helsinki. The development of trade was one of the subjects he discussed there with Finnish Ministers. The services normally provided by the British Overseas Trade Board and my Department are well used by British exporters to Finland, and our exports have expanded satisfactorily over recent years. We would expect this to continue but the scope in the immediate future is limited by Finland's balance of payments problems and by the import deposit scheme which the Finnish Government has consequently been obliged to introduce.