§ Mr. Mallalieuasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will consult representatives of British cloth manufacturers with a view to establishing the extent to which cheap imports of mainly wool suits into the United Kingdom from Eastern Europe are causing or threatening to cause material injury to British cloth manufacturers.
§ Mr. DeakinsI am always ready to meet representatives of the British cloth manufacturers if they feel that they are threatened with material injury through dumped imports of cloth. As both the cloth and suit manufacturers will realise, any action taken would have to conform to our own legislation and the GATT anti-dumping code.
§ Mr. Mallalieuasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he has now received representations from the Clothing Manufacturers Federation about cheap imports of mainly wool suits into the United Kingdom from Eastern Europe; and what steps he is taking to establish whether these imports constitute dumping.
§ Mr. DeakinsRepresentatives of the Clothing Manufacturers Federation on 16th January discussed with officials of my Department the problem arising from these imports and the possibility of antidumping action against them. My officials explained the criteria which an antidumping application has to meet and the Federation representatives agreed to consider the matter further in the light of that information.