HL Deb 12 November 1970 vol 312 cc915-6WA
THE EARL OF HARROWBY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the value, in terms of this country's employment, and of the volume and cash, of the exports and imports of all the countries of which British Governments are held ideologically to disapprove, such as South Africa, Rhodesia, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Greece, North Korea, North Vietnam, China, etc., and what percentages of the total figures under each head does this sector represent.

THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD DRUMALBYN)

I cannot give the noble Lord an Answer to the Question he asks because, in the Government's view, ideological approval or disapproval has nothing to do with trade. For the countries mentioned in the Question, the value of United Kingdom exports in 1969 was £699 million f.o.b., and the value of our imports was £727 million c.i.f., 10 per cent. and 9 per cent. respectively of our total exports and imports. The corresponding employment and volume of goods cannot be calculated. In the case of Rhodesia the United Nations Security Council has imposed mandatory sanctions permitting trade only in certain defined humanitarian and educational categories.