HC Deb 10 November 1960 vol 629 cc64-5W
Commander Donaldson

asked the President of the Board of Trade what negotiations are taking place between Great Britain and the United States of America with regard to the tariff on British woollen piece goods; and if he will again press for an easement of conditions which at present work against exports of such goods to the United States of America.

Mr. Maudling

As I told my hon. Friend, the Member for Shipley (Mr. Hirst), today in an Oral Answer, the United States Administration announced yesterday that as from 1st January, 1961, the tariff quota system will be abolished and new rates of duty will apply throughout the year. The new tariff for most wool fabrics will be 38 per cent. ad valorem—in addition to the existing specific duty—though a higher rate will apply to cheap cloths costing less than $2 a 1b. and a lower rate to certain speciality fabrics, including handwoven cloth.

These changes are the outcome of our request to the United States Administration that they should renegotiate the wool tariff arrangements under which the quota was imposed. They are not, however, the result of negotiations in the true sense, since the United States proposals were offered as a package to be accepted or rejected as a whole and no negotiation either generally or on any of the details was possible. I regard the 38 per cent. rate as unjustifiably high and I am greatly disappointed that it was not possible to secure rates more favourable to British exporters, particularly those whose chief business is in the more expensive cloths. But I consider the new arrangements a lesser evil than the continuation of the tariff quota which has so damaged our exports over the past four years, and I believe that industry will agree with this judgment. We cannot, however, be satisfied with these arrangements and we shall seek to improve them in further negotiations at the earliest appropriate opportunity.