§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Minister for Trade what definition is used by Her Majesty's Government of free competition and fair trading in the course of international negotiations of the level of imports of textiles and clothing to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 22 November 1982, c. 325.]: The United Kingdom's low-cost imports of textiles and clothing are regulated by bilateral agreements or voluntary restraint arrangements negotiated between the European Community and supplying countries. These agreements are negotiated by the European Commission on the basis of a mandate from the Council of Ministers. In formulating this mandate, the Council takes into account many factors bearing on free competition and fair trading, including the Community's balance of trade with the supplying countries; the openess of their markets; the extent to which their textiles and clothing production is subsidised; and the magnitude of their exports to the Community.