HC Deb 06 November 1980 vol 991 c627W
Mr. Marlow

asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the general agreement on tariffs and trade permits trade controls against a country that subsidises fuel prices for products where fuel costs are a significant portion of total costs.

Mr. Parkinson

As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State explained in his answer to my hon. Friend on 30 October, subsidies, other than certain export subsidies, do not contravene the provisions of the general agreement on tariffs and trade; and there is no provision in the GATT under which controls can be placed on imports on the grounds that the fuel costs involved in the production of the goods concerned are kept artificially low.