§ Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will publish a list of those countries currently enjoying duty free entry into the United Kingdom for industrial goods that would face a tariff if Great Britain were to enter the European Economic Community, showing in each case the volume of imports in 1970 and the amount of the Community tariff;
(2) what was the value of industrial imports, imported duty free into the United Kingdom in 1970, which would be 165W subject to tariff if Great Britain were to sign the Treaty of Rome.
§ Mr. NobleThe total value of goods falling in Standard Industrial Trade Classification (Revised) Sections 2–9 imported duty-free into the United Kingdom in 1969–70 was £4,641 million. (These Sections include all goods except food, live animals, beverages and tobacco.) Goods imported duty-free from all sources accounted for about two-thirds of this total and imports from the Commonwealth preference area and the European Free Trade Association accounted for most of the balance. It would not be possible without disproportionate expenditure to break down the above figure by source, commodity and duty liability under the Common External Tariff of the European Economic Community, but it is clear that Britain's entry into the Community would involve little or no change in duty liability over very large areas of trade. Many industrial goods enter the European Economic Community free of duty. Certain countries in the Commonwealth preference area and the European Free Trade Association are seeking entry to, or association with, the Community and it can be assumed, if they succeed, that the bulk of our industrial imports from them will enter free of duty. In addition, a wide range of industrial imports from developing countries generally would be eligible for duty-free entry under the generalised preference arrangements of the enlarged Community.