§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will take steps to assist the British footwear industry in the light of the unfair competition from Italian, Brazilian and Polish imports.
§ Mr. ParkinsonOn Brazilian and Polish imports my Department has been assisting the British Footwear Manufacturers Federation to present applications for countervailing and anti-dumping investigations respectively to the European Commission, which has responsibility for action in this field. There is a quota on the import of rubber footwear from Poland and a licensing requirement for certain Polish sports shoes. We also have a Polish undertaking about leather footwear limitations in 1981; the full implications of this arrangement are currently under discussion.
Because Italy is a fellow member of the European Community anti-dumping and countervailing action against Italian imports cannot be considered. Trade within the Community is however subject to the competition rules of the Treaty of Rome, which prescribe not only a standard of "fairness" but a framework of law to enforce it. I am always ready to look into any evidence my hon. Friend, or the British footwear industry, may have of breaches of these rules.