§ Mr. Nobleasked the Secretary of State for Trade what has been the growth in imports of the various categories of textile goods, by volume and by value, from other member States in the EEC, to the latest available date in 1978, compared with the same period for 1977.
§ Mr. Meacher:The information is as follows
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January-October 1977 January-October 1978 Percentage growth SITC Rev 2 Weight (tones) Value (£'000 Weight cif) Weight (tones) Value (£'000 cif) By weight By value Textile yarn (including wool tops and tops of animal hair) 651 (mainly) 83,633 146,250 97,698 175,855 16.8 20.2 Cotton fabrics, woven (not including narrow or special fabrics) 652 11,492 48,739 17,677 77,128 53.8 58.2 Fabric woven of man-made fibres (not including narrow or special fabrics) 653 27,733 115,761 41,174 178,972 48.5 54.6 Textile fabrics, woven, other than of cotton or man-made fibres 654 6,528 25,766 10,603 41,039 62.4 59.3 Knitted or crocheted fabrics (including tubular knit fabrics, pile fabrics and open-work fabrics) 655 2,401 11,938 2,806 14,865 16.9 24.5 Tulle, lace, embroidery, ribbon, trimmings and other small wares 656 677 4,259 810 5,824 19.6 36.7 Special textile fabrics and related products 657 18,777 39,083 24,934 49,971 32.8 27.9 Made-up articles, wholly or chiefly of textile materials, n.e.s. 658 5,956 19,584 7,680 23,015 28.9 17.5 Floor coverings, etc. 659 26,344 40,015 34,114 53,163 29.5 32.9 Synthetic fibres suitable for spinning 266 42,140 35,151 51,022 42,145 21.1 19.9 Other man-made fibres suitable for spinning and waste of man-made fibres 267 5,383 3,324 8,258 4,664 53.4 40.3 Men's and boys' outer garments of textile fabrics (other than knitted or crocheted goods) 842 3,390 43,448 4,570 60,917 34.8 40.2 Women's, girls' and infants' outer garments of textile fabrics (other than knitted or crocheted) 843 3,393 47,964 3,902 62,964 15.0 31.3 Under garments of textile fabrics (other than knitted or crocheted) 844 594 8,403 615 9,142 3.5 8.8 Outer garments and other articles, knitted or crocheted, not elastic or rubberized 845 3,760 42,354 4,465 50,519 18.8 19.3 Under garments, knitted or crocheted, of wool or fine animal hair, not elastic or rubberized 846 2,281 15,813 2,716 20,011 19.1 26.5 Clothing accessories of textile fabrics (other than knitted or crocheted goods) 847 578 9,471 813 11,619 40.7 22.7 Total 245,060 657,323 313,857 881,813 28.1 34.2 Note: The information above is given on the current basis of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom (SITC Rev 2), with slight modification to achieve greater equivalence of coverage between 1977 and 1978.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will undertake a review of the concept of "free circulation" in relation to the burden-sharing policy within the multi-fibre arrangement; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Meacher:Goods in free circulation and subject to the multi-fibre arrangement account for only a very small proportion of our total low-cost imports of clothing and textiles. In only one of the eight most sensitive categories have imports under free circulation exceeded 1 per cent. of all low-cost imports, and these imports will at least in part have been offset by exports, though the latter cannot be quantified.