§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will tabulate in the Official Report the visible and invisible trade figures, respectively, separating exports and imports in both instances, between the United Kingdom and the Republic of South Africa together with the four other most important trading partners in Africa for the most recent year, and for each country showing the percentage change in trade over the last five years.
§ Mr. MeacherFigures for trade in invisibles with individual countries are not available. Following is information for visible trade during the 12 months ending October 1976:
quotas for paper and paperboard have never been licensed and there appears to be no justification for its introduction. In the first two years of the tariff quota for newsprint importers required certificates issued by the Department of Trade in order to claim relief from import duty. It was feared that otherwise the newsprint might not go to the publishers of newspapers and periodicals for whom it was intended. As experience suggested that such fears were groundless, certification was abandoned in 1976 and no case has been made out so far for restoring it in 1977.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade why the duty-free quotas of pulp, newsprint, paper and board imports have been increased for 1977; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MeacherNo duties are levied on imports of woodpulp, which is an essential raw material for the United Kingdom's paper industry, and since 1975 there 811W have been no duty-free quotas. The United Kingdom's prescribed share of the EEC newsprint quota has not been increased over that for 1976.
There have been no increases so far as paper and paperboard are concerned either, except in the case of Finland where increases in respect of three out of 22 quotas have been granted. Two of these cover products not made in the United Kingdom and the increases amount to no more than 1¾ per cent. of the total quotas for Finland in 1976. The Finnish economy is particularly dependent on paper exports and this is recognised by the Community in a declaration in the EEC/Finland Free Trade Agreement alone.
An order was laid before the House on 10th December providing for 1977 duty-free quotas for paper and paperboard.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Trade when he proposes to lay before the House the order giving effect to the 1977 duty-free quota levels for paper products.
§ Mr. MeacherAs stated in my answer to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) today, this order was laid before the House on 10th December.
§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will specify the grades and types of paper products for which he has agreed increases in duty-free quotas for 1977; and by what percentage the quota for each type has been increased.
§ Mr. MeacherThe increase in duty-free quotas for imports of paper products for 1977 agreed for Finland are in the following grades: Kraft liner, other unbleached Kraft paper and board and semi-chemical fluting paper. The percentage increases agreed for each grade are, respectively, 6.33 per cent., 6.89 per cent. and 8.73 per cent. above the 1976 quota levels. The first two increases do no more than to bring the quota levels up to the maxima permitted by the arrangements, whilst the third still leaves the quota over 20 per cent. below the maximum.
As I said in reply to my hon. Friend's question of 8th December—[Vol. 922, c. 281]—the three quotas together amount to an increase of less than 1¾ per cent. of the 812W total quotas for Finland in 1976. The grades increased are, and have been in the past, regarded as less sensitive than others from the point of view of the home industry. I am satisfied, as I said in my earlier answer, that the increases cannot cause further unemployment.