§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for mechanical engineering products the value of imports from and exports to other EEC countries each year since 1970 and in the current year to date, together with the export-import ratio.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherInformation before 1975 is not readily available. Figures from 1975 onwards are given in the following table:
United Kingdom trade with other members of the European Community† in the products of the mechanical engineering industry‡ Period Exports £ million current prices Imports £ million current prices Exports/Imports per cent. 1975 859 876 98 1976 1,130 1,240 91 1977 1,453 1,449 100 1978 1,664 1,786 93 1979 1,904 2,206 86 1980 2,143 2,135 100 1981 1,824 2,062 88 1982 1,837 2,328 79 1983* 1,350 2,048 66 * First three quarters. † Belgium, Luxembourg, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Irish Republic and Greece. ‡ Class 32 of the standard industrial classification (1980).