§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what regulatory restrictions apply to the importation of(a) new cars and (b) new vans and other commercial type vehicles from the Irish Republic into Northern Ireland.
408Winformation he has on which specific verification problems are understood to exist; and when he expects the United Kingdom to join the negotiations.
§ Mr. EggarThe current round of United States/Soviet negotiations is aimed at agreeing verification methods to allow ratification of the threshold test ban and peaceful nuclear explosions treaties. The difficulty is that of verifying that a nuclear test has not exceeded the 150 kilotons threshold. The verification problems associated with a comprehensive test ban are even more intractable since their solution demands the detection and identification of nuclear tests of very low yield. The United Kingdom does not participate in the current negotiations which are concerned with two bilateral treaties to which the United Kingdom is not a party; nor will we take a decision on future participation until the prospects for a successful outcome are clearer.