§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Trade, in view of the publication by the EEC Commission of the document"Guidelines for the textile industry ", if he will ensure that the multi-fibre arrangement is strengthened in order to give a further period of time for the industry to restructure itself; and what steps are being taken regarding the instance of a social clause in any bilateral agreement.
§ Mr. Meacher, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 5 March 1979; Vol. 963, c. 490], gave the following information:
The bilateral agreements under the present multi-fibre arrangement do not 39W expire until the end of 1982. Decisions on arrangements after that date will be taken nearer the time, but in our view restrictions on imports of low cost textiles and clothing will continue to be needed in some form through the 1980s. A social clause would either have to be imposed by the EEC, which would require the agreement of other member States, or it would have to be negotiable with the developing countries concerned, but they would be likely to regard it as a disguised form of protectionism and an unjustified interference in their internal affairs.