§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) following the undertaking of the right hon. Member for Hertfordshire, South (Mr. Parkinson) to consult the United Kingdom pulp, paper and board industry, Official Report, Fifth Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments, 10 June 1981, c. 33, what form these consultations have taken;
(2) if he will make a statement on duty-free quota negotiations concerning paper and board and on any decisions which have been reached;
(3) what representations he has received from the British Paper and Board Industry Federation concerning duty-free quota negotiations; when he received the representations; and what reply he was given.
§ Mr. SproatFollowing consultations with various interested parties, my right hon. Friend laid on 11 December 1981 an order—SI 1981/1778—opening 1982 quotas for duty-free imports of paper, paperboard and printed products from Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Consultations with the British Paper and Board Industry Federation took place at a meeting on 21 October with my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and Information Technology, and in correspondence. The federation made representations against increases to a number of quotas, in particular for certain printing and writing papers. Other interested parties, however, made directly contrary representations. The Government believe that the order strikes a fair and reasonable balance between the various conflicting interests.