HC Deb 27 March 1975 vol 889 c245W
Sir Frederic Bennett

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will list those countries of which he is aware, which are in a trading relationship with the United Kingdom, with which the United Kingdom enjoyed in 1974 a favourable and an unfavourable balance of visible trade, respectively.

Mr. Clinton Davis:

Balance of trade figures are not available with individual countries on a balance-of-payments basis. The crude trade deficit or surplus with each of the countries with which we have a trading relationship can be obtained for 1974 from figures of imports cif and exports fob in Tables II and V respectively in the December 1974 issue of the monthly Overseas Trade Statistics. The crude trade balance—the difference between exports fob and imports cif—is not a good measure of the balance of trade in goods because, inter alia, of differences in valuation.