§ 7. Mr. Bradleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he is satisfied that, in the operation of the retail commitment for the footwear industry, the obligations given to the Price Commission have been met.
§ 19. Mr. Trippierasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in the light of the report on the operation of the retail commitment for the footwear industry, he 11W is satisfied that the obligations given to the Price Commission have been met.
§ Mrs. Sally OppenheimThe Price Commission is not responsible for monitoring the retail commitment. Following the Commission's report in 1978, certain footwear distributors gave assurances to the previous Secretary of State that they would adhere to the Retail Commitment and that they would support the establishment of machinery to monitor compliance with that Commitment. The Footwear Industry Economic Development Committee plays an active part in supervising the Commitment.
§ 20. Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Trade what action is proposed by his Department to increase the prospects for free and fair trading in footwear.
§ Mr. ParkinsonI am very much aware of the difficulties facing the footwear industry in competing for export markets. My Department is continually working, both bilaterally and through the EEC Commission, to seek a reduction in the barriers to our exports. My right hon. Friend raised the issue during his recent visit to South Korea and will continue to do so as opportunity arises.
§ 24. Mr. Fryasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will publish in the Official Report details of applications made in the last six months by the British footwear manufacturing industry for the imposition of anti-dumping duties; and what were the results of each application.
§ Mr. ParkinsonThere have been no applications from the British footwear manufacturing industry for the imposition of anti-dumping duties during the past six months.
§ 29. Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will list in the Official Report the countries which exercise restraints on the imports of footwear and house footwear.
§ Mr. ParkinsonVirtually all countries outside the European Community and EFTA maintain tariffs on imports of footwear and many impose quantitative restrictions as well. On the other hand, over a quarter of our footwear imports are subject to some form of restraint.
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§ 32. Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Trade what effect any United Kingdom Government or European Economic Community representations have had on the restrictions imposed on the import of footwear into Canada; and what restrictions now exist.
§ Mr. ParkinsonWe believe that the representations made by the European Community influenced the Canadian Government to grant some concessionary access for certain specialised types of footwear. The Canadian global footwear quota is administered on a non-discriminatory basis at 32.5 million pairs per year and is due to expire at the end of November 1980.
§ 36. Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take action to strengthen the trading prospects of the United Kingdom footwear industry.
§ Mr. ParkinsonI press continuously, both bilaterally and through the EEC Commission, for the reduction of barriers against United Kingdom exports of footwear. There are a number of restrictions on imports from low-cost sources.