§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) what surplus or deficit occurred in the United Kingdom's trade in manufactures with the EEC and with the rest of the world, respectively, in the period from the beginning of 1981 to the most recent date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures, respectively, in the same period of each of the previous 16 years;
(2) if he will list in the Official Report the five nations with which the United Kingdom had the largest positive balance of trade in manufactures in 1972 and 1980, respectively; and if he will also publish a table showing the five countries with which the United Kingdom had the largest negative balance of trade in manufactures in these years, respectively.
§ Mr. Peter Rees:I shall reply to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade by what percentage the United Kingdom deficit in trade in manufactures with West Germany has increased or decreased since 1972.
§ Mr. Peter Rees:The United Kingdom's crude deficit on trade in manufactures with the Federal Republic of Germany increased from £0.3 billion in 1972 to £2 billion in 1980. This is a change of about 550 per cent. However, the ratio of exports to imports for this trade£which makes some allowance for inflation£ showed little change at around 60 per cent. in both years.