§ Mr. David Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the increase in the imports of foreign manufactured goods in the last 12 months; what percentage of such imports are goods also manufactured in the United Kingdom; to what he attributes the public preference for foreign goods; and what steps he proposes to take to meet this challenge.
§ Mr. MeacherI am aware of this increase, which, between the years in question, has been matched by a broadly similar increase in exports of manufactured goods. For many finished manufactures, I expect that there are comparable United Kingdom-manufactured products, but there may be less scope for substitution for semi-manufactures. Public 119W choice as between United Kingdom or Foreign goods is likely to vary for different products, and will probably reflect factors such as availability, reliability and price. My Department continues to be closely involved in the effort to improve our share of both home and export markets, particularly through the industrial strategy programme and the work of the sector working parties.