§ Mr. Austin Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, further to his reply dated 7 July, Official Report, c. 149, concerning the effect on the engineering industry of the increase in the value of the pound sterling since the end of March, whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing exports of engineering products to the European Community as a percentage of imports in 1970, 1977, 1982 and the current year to date together with his estimate of the real exchange rate in each period between sterling and the relevant currencies or any suitable proxy for such a rate.
§ Mr. ChannonThe available figures requested are shown in the following table. The figures for exports by industry in 1983 are being calculated initially using the 1980 standard industrial classification and it will be some time before the 1983 data are available on a basis which is comparable with the figures shown here. Estimates of the real exchange rate between sterling and European Community currencies are not calculated.
Exports of the engineering industry* to the European Community as a percentage of imports from the European Community 1970 †129 1977 113 1982 71 * The engineering industry is defined here to include orders VII to XII of the 1968 standard industrial classification. † Excludes trade with Greece.