§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give details of the agreement reached between the EEC and Thailand on 5th May for a bilateral agreement under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement; and whether this agreement further increases the import penetration of the United Kingdom textile market.
§ Mr. MeacherThe agreement, which came into operation on 1st June, provides for Community quotas for the calendar year 1977 on certain cotton and synthetic textile fibre fabrics—with a sub-quota for fabrics other than grey and bleached—and regional quotas which for66W the United Kingdom cover a number of knitted under and outer garments including knitted shirts, on which we introduced a quota during the negotiations. There is also a binding consultation clause on a wide range of clothing and on household linen. The agreement covers 85 per cent. of our imports of textiles and clothing from Thailand. The effect on import penetration will depend on a number of factors, including the extent to which the quotas are filled.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Trade what general objections have been agreed upon by the EEC in the renegotiation of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement.
§ Mr. MeacherThe EEC's main objectives are to secure more realistic quota growth rates varying inversely with the degree of import penetration and arrangements for setting overall limits to low cost imports to protect the most sensitive sectors from cumulative disruption.