§ Mr. Warrenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made and what further representations he is proposing to make to the Council of Ministers of the EEC concerning Protocol XVII to the Agreement of Accession to the Treaty of Rome, in respect of products in List G annexed to the Treaty, concerning the right granted to United States civil aircraft manufacturers to export aircraft with an unladened weight exceeding 15,000 kg. to EEC countries duty free, without any reciprocal arrangements being obtained for aircraft of EEC manufacture being exported to the United States.
§ Mr. MeacherI have been asked to reply.
An agreement about trade in the aircraft sector is currently under discussion in the context of the GATT multilateral trade negotiations, and these discussions offer a prospect of reciprocal duty free trade in aircraft between the United States, the EEC and other participating countries. In the circumstances, I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by making representations to the Council of Ministers about the EEC protocol relating to suspension of duties on aircraft of an unladen weight exceeding 15,000 kgs. while the GATT discussions are still in progress.