§ 18. Mr. Dorrellasked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the net loss of jobs in the United Kingdom from 1970–71 to 1979–80 resulting from (a) changes in trade with developing countries, and (b) changes in productivity; and what implications this has for trade policy.
§ Mr. NottOur studies indicate that relative changes in productivity in our manufacturing industry have been up to twice as significant for the loss of jobs than any changes in trade; and that we gained roughly as many jobs from increased exports to the more advanced developing countries as we lost to them through increased imports. Our objective is to increase our trade with these countries, whose economies are growing much faster than world trade generally, within the framework of increasingly equal export opportunities on both sides.