§ Sir G. de Freitasasked the President of the Board of Trade what reasons have been given to Her Majesty's Government as to why imports of British footwear into Japan are restricted by the 573W Japanese Government; and what representations he has made with a view to having these restrictions removed by 1st January, 1971.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody:Imports of footwear into Japan are restricted from all sources by a global quota which is claimed to be necessary because of special social problems in the leather manufacturing industries. We are not the main supplier of footwear to Japan, but in the current trade negotiations with Japan we are pressing for improved access for British footwear.