§ Lady Gammansasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now make a further statement regarding the negotiations for the association of Finland with the European Free Trade Association.
§ Mr. MaudlingAn Agreement of Association between the Member States of the European Free Trade Association (E.F.T.A.) and Finland is being signed in Helsinki today. Under it Finland and the members of E.F.T.A. assume broadly the same commercial rights and obligations towards one another as the members of E.F.T.A. have already assumed between themselves. The exception as far as tariffs are concerned is that Finland may reduce her import duties on certain goods in accordance with a retarded timetable (but must catch up again with the standard timetable by 1st January, 1967): the main goods in question are textiles, tyres and a range of iron and steel manufactures. The other exception is that Finland may also retain indefinitely her quantitative restrictions on imports of certain other goods—solid and liquid fuels, tars, bitumen, etc., and certain kinds of fertilisers. The full lists of the excepted products are being placed in the Library.
E.F.T.A. retains its own separate Council, but a Joint Council is to be established to administer the new area of eight countries.
105WThe first tariff reductions are to become operative on 1st July, 1961. Except for goods which the importing country has declared as revenue items, the cuts will affect all industrial goods which under the origin rules of the Stockholm Convention are entitled to Area treatment. On those goods where Finland may retard her reductions, her basic duties will at this first stage come down by only 20 per cent.; but the reductions on the other goods in Finland, and all the reductions in the E.F.T.A. countries, will be cuts of 30 per cent.
A Command Paper with the text of the Agreement will be presented as soon as it can be printed.
Her Majesty's Government warmly welcome the Agreement, Which will strengthen yet further the ties between our two countries.