§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Trade what estimate he has made of the level of penetration of the United Kingdom import and export freight market by subsidised competition from Soviet bloc carriers; and what action he is taking to protect British interests in this field.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisProvisional data show the proportion of seaborne imports carried by Soviet flag ships in 1978 as 1.89 per cent. by value; the comparable figure for exports is 1.67 per cent. Figures for 1977 were 2.34 per cent. and 1.29 per cent. respectively, thus showing little change overall.
The Department of Trade is responding to the recent EEC decision to monitor cargo carried by the Soviet merchant fleet, and other third-flag carriers, on our direct trades. Monitoring is a logical precursor to taking defensive action and if the EEC monitoring system showed a serious situation we would have grounds for urging our partners to consider implementing concerted defensive measures.