Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the changes in export trade opportunities arising from the agreement at the Co-ordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) meeting in Paris on 6 and 7 June.
§ Mr. RedwoodAn outline of the changes agreed is given in a press briefing paper, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The most significant export trade opportunities for industry are likely to arise from changes in the three priority sectors of computers, telecommunications and machine tools, although further opportunities are presented in other areas.
756WThe changes to the controls on computer equipment will be reflected in relaxations on many other types of computer-controlled equipment. It should be noted that some of the relaxations on telecommunications equipment apply only to Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, plus the German Democratic Republic which benefits from a special new licensing regime.
The 30 whole-item deletions and reduced levels of control in about 25 more items, will provide further opportunities across a wide range of goods and technologies. Details on many of these are currently being worked out by COCOM.
There will be an open general export licence for 28 of the 30 deleted items which came into effect on 1 July. The other changes will be brought into effect by means of further amendments to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1989.
Further publicity will be given to these changes when amendments to the order are issued. The Department's "Security Export Control" guidance booklet will also be reissued as soon as possible and will reflect the deletions of or changes to some 70 items, out of 126, including others currently subject to COCOM's regular review process.
My technical staff in the Export Control Organisation are available to answer questions from industry about these changes.