§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, as on entry into the European Economic Community he will be unable to maintain his power to ban the importation of coal from any of the countries of the Six if he should so desire, he will arrange to discuss this subject with the National Union of Miners and the National Coal Board.
§ Mr. RidleyNo. The coal industry already knows that there will be free 15W trade in Community coal, including duty-free opportunities for export of British coal.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will have the power to retain quotas on imported Commonwealth cotton textiles and those from the countries of the European Economic Community on Great Britain's entry into the Community.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantNo restraints will be permissible on such trade between members of the enlarged Community, and there are none at present. We shall retain our existing rights to control imports from countries outside the Community except in cases where Community arrangements have been concluded. There are already Community arrangements for restraining imports of cotton textiles from certain countries, including three Commonwealth countries and these arrangements will be applied with suitable modifications to imports into new members of the Community after accession.