§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will make a statement on the current adverse balance of trade between the United Kingdom and Japan.
§ Mr. Dell,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21st July 1977; Vol. 935, c.659–60], gave the following information:
I want to see a much better balance in our trade with Japan. Our intensive export promotion efforts in Japan are being maintained. We continue to seek the co-operation of Japan to improve the access of our exporters to its market, to increase substantially the level of its imports from the United Kingdom as well as to continue restraint of Japan's sensitive exports to us.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what recent representations have been made by British manufacturing companies about Japanese non-tariff barriers;
(2) if he will instance those non-tariff barriers, identified by his Department in United Kingdom/Japanese trade, which have been removed in the past five years; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what progress has been secured with the Japanese authorities in the removal of non-tariff barriers to British goods entering Japan; and how many such barriers have been identified by his Department as being operated by the Japanese authorities.
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Mr. Den,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 21st July 1977; Vol. 935, c. 659–60], gave the following information:
Representations have been made about a number of specific obstacles facing particular exports, and there has been recent progress towards reducing some of them such as difficulties resulting from Japanese pharmaceutical and vehicle testing requirements and vehicle emission standards. But other obstacles remain, and the Government and the European Commission are continuing to make representations to the Japanese authorities about these and other difficulties faced by our exporters. I will write to my hon. Friend with a fuller description of the obstacles and what has been done to remove them.