§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain to what extent arms, ammunition and electrical equipment usable for military purposes directly or indirectly have been included in trade agreements and supplied to the Soviet bloc of countries; to what extent this trade can be increased; and whether it can and should be reduced.
§ Mr. Dell:No. Several of the cooperation agreements and programmes which we have signed with East European countries contain lists of sectors of industry which the parties believe offer scope for co-operation, but these lists are indicative only and do not commit either side. I hope that our exports of the very wide range of goods which do not give rise to strategic issues con be increased. We shall continue to control the export to Eastern Europe of those items which could conflict with our strategic interests or our obligations to our partners in COCOM.