§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a comparison between the existing United Kingdom generalised scheme of preferences and that proposed in draft EEC Regulation R/2605/73, with particular reference to major changes affecting any one nation or dependency.
§ Sir G. HoweThe principal differences are that the generalised preference scheme of the enlarged Community provides that for a certain number of industrial products preferential access is limited by quotas; and there are restrictions ("butoirs") on the share of these quotas that can be taken up by any individual beneficiary under the scheme. The United Kingdom scheme relies on a general safeguard provision and does not, therefore, include duty-free quota arrangements. The United Kingdom scheme has a wider coverage of agricultural products but excludes textiles. I do not expect any major change affecting particular beneficiaries, except that Hong Kong is excluded at present from preference on textiles and footwear.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the tariff which will be imposed on the main duty-free imports of packaged and processed foodstuffs from Commonwealth and Third World countries from 1st January next under the terms of EEC Draft Regulation No. R/2605/73.
§ Sir G. HoweThe proposed generalised preference scheme for the EEC for 1974 covers nearly 200 items in the processed agricultural field. The rates of duty range from zero to 25 per cent. Full details of the final Community scheme, including the rates of duty applicable, will be published shortly.