§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the balance of trade in non-oil products between the United Kingdom and, respectively, the Six, the Eight, the non-Six and the non-Eight on a crude and on a balance of payments basis in the 13 quarters ended 31st March 1975.
§ Mr. DeakinsFigures on a balance of payments basis for the first quarter of this year are not yet available. The crude balances of non-oil trade, i.e. the difference between exports f.o.b. and imports c.i.f., for the 13 quarters from the first quarter of 1972 to the first quarter of 1975 inclusive are:
615W The crude balance is not a good measure of the balance of trade in goods because, inter alia, of differences in valuation.
£ million seasonally adjusted The Six 3,465 The Eight 4,014 The non-Six 1,934 The non-Eight 1,335
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the balance of trade in non-oil products between the United Kingdom and respectively, the Six, the Eight, the non-Six and the non-Eight on a crude and on a balance of payments basis in the three months February to April 1975, assuming, if the breakdown of the oil figures is not yet available, that the balance of payments deficit with the EEC on oil was £100 million during this period.
§ Mr. DeakinsFigures on a balance of payments basis are not available for the period February to April 1975. Figures of the crude balances of trade, i.e., the difference between exports f.o.b. and imports c.i.f., may be derived from Tables II and V of the monthly Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom for January 1975, which has been published, and for April, 1975, an advance copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Data for the Six may be obtained by adding the figures for the individual countries concerned. Statistics for SITC(R) Division 33 covering oil goods should be ignored throughout.
The crude balance is not a good measure of the balance of trade in goods because, inter alia, of differences in valuation. In addition the figures for March and April have been distorted because of the effect of the industrial dispute at the Port of London on the flows of trade and the way that this has been recorded in the statistics.
§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the balance of trade between the United Kingdom and, respectively, the Six, the Eight, the non-Six and the non-Eight on a balance of payments basis in the first quarter of 1975 for each SITC section, for motor cars by number and value, commercial vehicles, iron and steel, textiles, meat, dairy produce, cereals, sugar, plastics and manmade fibres.
§ Mr. DeakinsFigures are not available on a balance of payments basis. Crud,: balances of trade i.e., the difference between exports f.o.b., and imports c.i.f.,616W for the first quarter of 1975 can be derived from the March, 1975, issue of the Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom, with statistics for the Six being obtained by aggregating the figures of trade with the individual member countries. However, the crude balance of trade with the Six in commercial vehicles and man-made fibres are not so obtainable and are as follows:
CRUDE BALANCE OF TRADE, FIRST QUARTER 1975 £ million Commercial vehicles* Man-made fibres† The Six + 4 - 5 The non-Six +69 +27 * Defined as SITC(R) 732.2, 732.3 and 732.4 † Defined as SITC(R) 266, 651.6, 651.7 The crude balance is not a good measure of the balance of trade in goods because, inter alia, of differences in valuation. In addition figures for the first quarter of 1975 may have been distorted because of the effect of the industrial dispute at the Port of London on the flows of trade and the way that this has been recorded in the statistics.