§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he has available to him any independent estimate of the total of textile and clothing imports from all low-cost sources into the United Kingdom in 1980 expressed in tonnes, or an estimate of the effect by 1986 if the level of 1980 imports were increased by 1 per cent. each year.
§ Mr. Peter ReesThe British Textile Confederation has prepared figures on that and a number of other bases and have kindly made them all available to my Department.
§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether discussions in the Council of Ministers have given any indication that the reopening of the question of basing future ceilings and quotas for textile and clothing imports from low-cost sources on recent actual levels of trade might usefully be attempted; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter ReesNo. There was nothing in the discussions in the Council of Ministers on 26 January to lead me to change the view expressed in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 25 January.—[Vol. 16, c. 266.]