§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to adopt a more flexible application of the three times rule in relation to a company's participation in trade fairs in a particular national market(a) in general and (b) for the apparel and textile industry.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe general policy of the three times rule does incorporate a certain level of flexibility in that flag ship events—that is major prestigious shows focusing on important sectors—are supported on five occasions. This additional level of support is also available for events in 131W Japan, North America and Germany, except that the latter two are restricted to three events within regions of those markets.
A review of the trade fairs support scheme is planned to take place during 1993. The results of that exercise will form the basis of a total review of the present policy.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what the (i) current account and (ii) manufacturing trade balance was for the calendar year 1989 in(a) United Kingdom and (b) Germany.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe information is in the table.
Balances on current account and in manufacturing in 1989 £ billion Current account balance Manufacturing balance United Kingdom -21.7 -17.3 Germany 35.1 68.7 Notes:
1. All figures are on a balance of payments basis except the German figure for trade in manufactured trade goods, which is a crude balance.
2. Germany excludes eastern Germany.
Source: CSO, OECD, German national source.