§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade how much higher the United States tariff against EEC textile exports is as compared with the EEC tariff rate.
§ Mr. John SmithThe EEC Commission has estimated the average United States tariff against imports of textiles from the EEC to be about 19 per cent. and the average EEC tariff against imports of textiles from the United States to be about 13 per cent. On this basis, the United States tariff is on average about 6 percentage points greater than the EEC tariff. These averages have been calculated on a trade weighted basis, using 1976 trade volumes; equivalent data for later years is not available.
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§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he considers the latest offers by the United States of America under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Tokyo Round and the concessions demanded from the EEC, represent a fair balance of opportunity for the United Kingdom textile industry:
(2) what representations he will be making concerning the United States proposed reduction in tariffs for textiles, particularly wool and cotton, which are much smaller than the concession which the United States of America has obtained from the EEC where the United States of America has particular competitive advantages;
(3) if he will urge the EEC to reject the present offer made by the United States of America to reduce tariffs for textile exports from EEC countries.
§ Mr. John SmithI have only recently received from the EEC Commission information on the latest United States offers and proposed EEC concessions on textile tariffs. I am carefully evaluating these proposals, in consultation with representatives of the textile industry. I would not wish to form a view about the balance of opportunity offered by the proposals, or the adequacy of the United States offer, until my consultations have been completed. Any further representations I make about the United States offer must depend on the outcome of the study and consultation which I have urgently in hand.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will oppose further EEC concessions to the United States of America during the current Tokyo Round negotiations relating to the textile industry.
§ Mr. John SmithI would be opposed to any further concessions on textile tariffs being offered to the United States of America during these negotiations.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade what representations he has received from the British Textile Confederation concerning the present Tokyo Round negotiations relating to textiles.
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§ Mr. John SmithThe British Textile Confederation has represented to me that the EEC should withdraw its offer of reductions on its textile tariffs, while continuing its efforts to obtain a worthwhile reduction in the United States wool cloth duty, as part of the final package on industrial tariffs.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade for what reasons it was decided to postpone further consideration of the United States of America and EEC General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Tokyo Round offers until the next EEC Council of Ministers meeting in early April.
§ Mr. John SmithA number of issues in the negotiations were still outstanding when the Foreign Affairs Council met on 5 March. The Commission was therefore asked to report to the next Council early in April.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he considers the offers made by Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to reduce tariffs on textiles to be adequate.
§ Mr. John SmithThe offers of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa on textile and other industrial tariffs need to be considered in the light of the value of the Community's offer on primary and resource based products in which these countries are chiefly interested. This evaluation cannot be made at present while negotiations with these countries are still continuing.
Japan has offered reductions in many of the bound tariff rates which she is entitled to charge, under GATT rules, on textile imports. The value of this to United Kingdom exporters is, however, limited by the extent to which Japan has reduced her textile tariff rates to below bound levels on a unilateral basis since the Kennedy Round tariff negotiations.