§ Mr. Nobleasked the Secretary of State for Trade what are the criteria for judging whether emergency restraints should be introduced to restrict the import of any category of textile goods.
§ Mr. MeacherI assume that my hon. Friend has in mind action under Article 3(6) of the GATT Multi-Fibre Arrangement. This permits emergency action in cases where imports are causing serious market disruption which, were the normal procedures for the imposition of restrictions under the arrangement observed, would give rise to damage difficult to repair. The criteria relevant to a determination of a market disruption are set out in Annex A to the Arrangement; briefly these require that there should be a sharp and substantial increase, or imminent increase, of imports of particular products from particular countries and that the imported products are offered at prices substantially below those prevailing for similar goods of comparable quality in the domestic market.